A Weapon's Phantom
by Dr. ForgottenFables
Summary: When Sam finds out that she has Weapon blood in her, she has no chose but to go to the DWMA. But when Danny tags along they end up getting all kinds of attention. Will they be able to survive a mad scientist, wicked witch, hypnotized army, one very hyperactive ninja, and the universe itself? NOT season. (squeal up 'After Pain')
1. A New Story, I'm a weapon?

I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.

* * *

Sam Manson never really liked 'time with parents'. Nothing annoyed the fourteen year old high school girl was sitting down with her mom and dad at the dinner table and listening to them list of all the things that are 'inappropriate, unacceptable, or annoying'. The number one thing on that list was her best friend since elementary school, Danny Fenton, and his dysfunctional and weird family.

So she was fairly upset the day it all started for her. She was sitting at the dinner table with her mom and dad. "Those Fentons were at it again today." Pamela Manson said from the top of her metaphorical high horse. "I was down at the mall buy own little Sammy some new pretty pink dresses." Sam cringed at the thought of more pink dresses, there was nothing she hated more than that color. Even Aragon, a sexist Ghost dragon who kidnapped her and who beat his own sister for hundreds of year, was not as hated as that single color. But she didn't say anything. Sam just looked up from her plate of tofu and lettuce to look at her parents.

Pamela Manson was a high society woman who wore her red hair up on top of her head and Sam had never seen it let down even once in her life. In Sam's opinion, the amount of cheerful makeup and jewelry that she had on should be considered a crime against nature and the pink dresses that she always wore should have been burned. "But as I left the store that vulgar beast Jack Fenton was convinced that a mirror in another store was a pathway into that ghost world or what every they call it. He shot it with one of those weird contraptions that they make and the light from it turned all the dresses an ugly shade of green, they glow for goodness sake."

Sam inwardly grinned. The Fenton's family was infamous for the tools and weapons that they made. They were completely harmless and only covered people with goo or changed the color of their hair temporarily. Well, that isn't entirely true; the weapons are extremely effective against people who are already dead. Jack and Maddie Fenton were some of the world's greatest inventers, but they never were recognized for it because of their chosen profession; they were ghost hunters.

"You think that's bad." Jeremy Manson said with a hint of a scoff. Sam's father was as just like his wife, like he was pulled out of a picture from some country club for rich golfers. The blond haired man always wore white undershirts with a country club sleeveless sweater pulled over it. His usual cheer was enough to make Sam feel sick. But all that fake cheeriness disappeared whenever the subject of the Fentons was involved. "I was picking up some food for dinner when the food tried to eat me. Apparently the woman set off some kind of grenade inside of store and it brought all the dead meat back to life."

Sam couldn't help but to laugh. As weird and embarrassing as Danny's parents were she like the way that the Fenton family always kept things interesting. Even though they went around disrupting the community and causing a little madness, they were left be by the rest of the town of Amity Park. They were practically a tourist attraction and their work, though ignored by all respectable groups, did bring in a lot of under the table government funding. Plus the Fentons were practically war heroes. After the town was dragged into an alternate dimension they provided the tools and weaponry needed to keep the town safe until 'Danny Phantom' saved the day.

"Do not laugh, Samantha." Pamela snapped. "I think it is high time someone did something about that family. It was one thing for them to prance around in those hideous jumpsuits when the ghost were attacking, but there hasn't been a single ghost in months, the town doesn't need them anymore." It was true, Vladimir Plasmius, the half ghost that had been behind most of the attacks died a few months back from ectoacne and all the attacks stopped after he was gone. "I am going to start a partition to get them removed from the town."

"What!? You can't just kick people out of town just because you don't like them! It's un-American." Sam shouted. The girl's appearance was as different from her parents as her personality and views. She had somehow managed to inherit her grandmother's raven black hair that she wore in a short ponytail and her grandfather's violet eyes even though her parents both had blue eyes and very colorful hair. She was a rebel who chose to stand away from the high society's way of thinking and became a Goth. Her dark clothes and makeup was as far away from her parents' conformed outfits as you could get.

"You're exactly right." Sam grandmother, Izzy Manson, said as she entered the room on her electric chair. Sam smiled as her grandmother, the elderly woman might not have been able to walk anymore but she always stood up for herself and others. Her hair had gone gray with age but her blue eyes were still full of the same rebellious cunning of her youth. "We didn't fight no wars so that people could have their rights stepped on, no we did not."

"Mother please, those people are dangerous and their contraptions…" Jeremy said but then backed up as Grandma Manson pulled out her umbra and pointed it at her son's neck.

"Oh piss posh. They are kind and decent people. And I will not have you insulting an inventor under my roof." Grandma Manson said frowning at her son. "Don't forget that your father and I were inventors back in the day and it is because of that you live the way you do. Shame on you, saying things about hard working and passionate people when you have never worked a day in your life."

"Decent people? They are completely unacceptable. Just look at that son of theirs." Pamela said angrily. "The boy is rambunctious, rude, violent…" Sam glared as he mom continued to insult her best friend. No of it was even slightly true. Danny was a little bit of a joker, but he always tried to be polite to people unless he had a very good reason not to be. Well… that is unless he was hunting ghosts. Even though no one in town new about it, Danny Fenton was the ghostly champion defender of the town, Danny Phantom. How they didn't know this was more or less a mystery, but for the last year Danny had been fighting off the ghosts in order to keep Amity Park safe.

"Not to mention he has been a terrible influence on our daughter, just look at her." Sam didn't want to acknowledge that statement enough to respond to it. Her parents had always had a problem with her individuality. She just rolled her eyes and continued to eat. "You need real friends, like that charming girl, Paulina."

Sam chocked on her tofu and had to hit herself in the stomach several time before it agreed to go down the right way. "That shallow witch? I think I would rather die." Sam said angrily. The earlier statement that said that pink was the thing that Sam hated the most was not quite accurate. In Sam's mind Paulina, the captain of the Casper Middle School cheerleads, was the living personification of pink; annoying, whiny, manipulative, constantly trying to stand out, and thinks it better than everyone else.

Pamela looked rather displeased with her daughter's response. "Well I am afraid that you will just have to warm up to the idea, because I forbid you from going anywhere near that boy."

Sam was horrified. "That's not fair!" Sam and her Grandmother echoed.

"I do not care, I am your mother. I am going to decide what is best for you." Pamela said strictly.

"You can't just say that!" Sam shouted slamming her fist down on the table. Instead of a crashing sound like she was expecting, there was a thud. Sam registered the shock on her family's faces moments before she realized that she couldn't lift up her hands. Glancing down she tried to back away in shock only to be stopped by the fact that he hands had turned into slabs of steel gray metal extending straight out at a ninety degree angle from her wrists and they had dug themselves into the table right in front of her.

Her father gave a girly scream and her mother actually fainted. They could not deal with what they were seeing. Their own daughter was a freak. Their own daughter was a Weapon.

* * *

"How, why…" Sam said her mind still panicked after her grandmother had lead her away from the dinner table after giving the two parents a few choice words about being there for their daughter.

"Oh Sammy, I never thought that this would happen." Izzy said with a kind smile. She was the only one that Sam allowed to call her Sammy. The older woman's voice was so calm and loving. "I am so proud of you." The words seemed to cut through the panic and left Sam in simple shock. "Don't worry, this is something that is in your blood, though I never imagined that it would reappear."

"What are you talking about? No one in our family is a Weapon." Sam said looking down at her hands. The slabs of heavy metal felt foreign and looking at them made her feel dizzy.

Grandma Manson just shook her head. "No, my father was a weapon. Thought he was only really a hand shovel." The old woman chuckled. "But after it skipped mine and your father's generation I thought that it was gone."

Izzy reached over and placed a hand on one of the metal slabs. Sam was amazed that she could still feel her grandmother's touch, but there was something more, it was almost as if she could feel the elder's very essence, the woman's gentle caring and desire to help. Sam's heart rate returned to normal and she began to breathe normally. "How… how do I change them back?" Sam asked tentatively.

Izzy shook her head. "I am afraid that I don't remember, that is if I ever knew. But don't worry, you will go to the DWMA and they will teach you every…"

"What!?" Sam said in a panic again. "But… I don't want to leave. I can't just go. I…"

Izzy looked at her granddaughter with understanding. "You don't want to leave Danny do you?" Sam bit her lip. It was never something she openly admitted but she had always depended on the boy for support in her life. Other than her grandmother, the cheerful boy was the only one who supported her in choosing who she wanted to be. "I am sorry Sammy… but you will have to go."

"I… I don't want to!" Sam shouted running up her stairs before her grandmother could call her back.

Izzy Manson sighed. It was all far too much for her to expect the girl to just accept immediately. But the simple truth was that she would not have an easy time at home now that she was a weapon. Sam was just too attached to the Fenton boy, not that she blamed her, but she just had to leave him.

Turning her head Izzy looked to the house phone. 'There is only one way for them to stay together. It is a one in a million chance, but it is worth the try.' She thought as she reached for the phone and punched in the number. Someone picked up on the other side. "Hello, is Danny there? We need to talk… it's about Sam."

* * *

Sam had barricaded herself in her room and pulled the blankets around her. She was crying lightly and praying that it was all just a bad dream. But then she heard a tapping at her window. "Sam." She knew without turning around that it was Danny. Who else could be knocking on the window of a third story room?

She panicked looking at her deformed hands and wrapped them further in her blanket. "Danny… what are you doing here?" She asked turning to him. She hoped that he couldn't see her tears in the weak light that he seemed to give off in the dark room.

Danny phased through the window and landed in front of her in his ghost form. His bright green eyes looked at her reassuringly from under his snow white bangs. "I came to see you." Danny said a little solemnly. He looked to were her hands would be under the blankets. "You don't have to hide anything thing from me, you know that right?" Sam hesitated. "Sam… I am the last person who can judge you because of what you are." Danny broke the solemn act to chuckle.

Sam felt a little ashamed as her hands came out from underneath the blanket. "How'd you know?" She asked though it was obvious.

"You're grandmother called… she told me everything." Danny said sitting down on the bed next to Sam. Sam pulled in her knees and buried her head in them. Leave it to her grandmother to take matters into her own hands. "So… you're going to go to the DWMA, huh. I bet you're going to kick witch butt." Danny joked.

A smile momentarily broke Sam's face but she didn't unbury her head. "Danny… I don't want to go." She said sounding a little childish. "I don't want to split up the team again. It was so hard when Jazz went to college and when Tucker left for that software security job… I don't want to go. I don't want Team Phantom to disappear for good."

"Sam…" Danny said his voice full of understanding. In the few short months since the ghosts stopped coming the team had all but disbanded. "Sam, you're going." He said shortly shocking the girl who looked up at him feeling betrayed. She opened her mouth to object but Danny quickly added. "And I'm going with you."

Sam's eyes widened. "But… you can't… The DWMA is…"

"Death's Weapon Meister Academy, I know. So if you're going as a weapon, I will just have to become your meister." Danny said putting a hand on one of the metal plates that came out of Sam's wrists. Just like with her grandmother Sam could swear that she felt Danny's essence flowing into her. His accepting nature and cool resolve passed through her, a hundred times stronger than that of her grandmother's. Looking into his green eyes she blinked as she momentarily thought she saw a large green bubble surrounding him, so big that it filled half of her large room. But a moment later and it was gone. "We will still be a team. I promise."

Sam smiled and bent her head down so her hair covered her teary eyes. She knew that Danny would do it, even if he had to stand against the whole world in order to be by her side. He had promised her, and he never broke his promises.

"Come on, let's see if we can't figure out all this weapon transformation stuff. It can't be that much harder than ghost powers." Danny said with a grin. They spent the rest of the night working on it until Sam could change her hands back and forth at will. Sam was glad to have her best friend there for her, the one who would always accept her and stay with her. She and Danny would make an unstoppable team someday.


	2. Becoming a Meister, a promise made?

I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.

* * *

Doctor Franken Stein, the mad meister, sat behind the judge's panel at the scouting tournament for the DWMA, the winner would be permitted entry into the Academy as a meister. Normally he would never do such a thing, nor would anyone ever dream of asking him. But the DWMA was thrown into chaos after a spoiled princess decided to run away from home and sign up as a meister student. Half the senior staff was trying to figure out a security detail and dealing with all the red tape since Lord Death in all his fun loving wisdom chose not to just send the girl home. And being understaffed they called on all inactive meisters with connections to Lord Death in order to keep normal functionality. And the Mad Doctor was one of those meisters who was usually only called in from emergencies or to scare the pants off of students that needed to be reminded why fear was important.

The only reason that Doctor Stein agree to go was because of the location; Amity Park. The stories of the powerful bonded souls had reached his ears and the scientist in him wanted to see what the after effects of being exposed to the unique soul would have on the population.

The Doctor was looking at his clipboard as the first round was coming to an end. He sighed and reached up a hand to the screw that ran through his head. He twisted it around a bit until he felt a click, ignoring the cringes of the nearby applicants. He had seen sixty-two different applicants that day and none of them were anything special. Just the usual martial arts protégées and oversized brutes. Not a single powerful soul in the bunch and even if they were well schooled in their own form of martial art, it was clear that they were unwilling or unable to break the rules of their art in order to adapt. Stein felt such people to be unworthy of his time.

He looked up at the applicants, most were staring as his gray skin and hair and his stitched together face with a bit of horror. Not to mention the screw. With another sigh he looked back down at the roster. "Applicants 63 and 64 please come forward!" He shouted to the group. It was going to be the last fight of the day and the 32 remaining participants would return the next day to finish the tournament.

The first to come forward was a standard big guy wearing a badge with the number 63 on it. Stein looked over at the African American boy, he looked to be around eighteen was six foot eight without his afro and he had his hands bound in wraps and was throwing some warm up punches. 'A boxer.' Stein thought a little uninterestedly. The boy's soul didn't do it for the Doctor either, plenty of greed and self-confidents, but no pain or fear to give focus to the desires. 'Another useless one.'

But the second individual to come up onto the stage surprised him. He was not what you would expect from a meister. He was a small 14 year old boy, around five foot three with spiky black hair and a rather small build. He didn't walk with the same confidence as the others and seemed a little slouched as he came onto the stage.

The boy's soul was also not something you would expect to find with a meister. It was strong enough but most meisters' souls are filled with determination and confidence, this boy didn't have much of that. His soul spoke of acceptance and a want to help to find peace, with a well of painful history hidden behind it. It actually reminded Doctor Stein a lot of his old partner, Maria, and her purifying wavelength. He even had the same lack of confidence as she did even though she had proven herself time and time again.

"You got to be kidding me, this is going to be my opponent? This bite size punk ain't even going to be a warm up for me!" 63 boasted loudly. 64 backed away slightly as the older and larger kid laughed.

"Don't listen to him, Danny!" Shouted a girl from the side lines. Stein turned his attention to the girl. She was also fourteen and around the same height as the boy. She was dressed in a rebellious Goth outfit and cheering on number 64, Danny. Stein could instantly tell that the girl was a weapon. Her soul was one of rebellious determination and self-confident pride, a good contrast to the boy's timid soul.

Stein nodded to himself in understanding. The boy was trying to become a meister so that he could stay with his friend. The two of them did have complementing soul wavelengths, much like another weapon/meister pair that Stein had heard about from the DWMA, Black Star and Tsubaki. Only the roles were reversed with the weapon driving the otherwise timid meister.

Stein raised one hand and the two participants dropped into stance. "Began!" Stein said as he dropped his hand. The boxer rushed forward and three sharp punches to the other boy's face. Danny was knocked back and staggered but managed to right himself without falling to the ground.

"This is pathetic. You don't even know how to fight." 63 said laughing.

Stein nodded to spit himself. The boy's stance was strange. It was centered around dodging rather than blocking or deflecting his opponents attacks so that he himself could get into attack range. It was almost like he was used to not needing to be close up in order to attack.

Danny rushed forward and tried to throw a punch but it was sloppy and missed the target. The boxer delivered several more punches straight to be boy's face and knocked him to the ground.

Stein sighed think that it was over, but to his astonishment the boy quickly pushed himself back up. "Why don't you just stay down? It would be easier on you." 63 said mockingly though it was clear that he had also not expected the boy to get up, let alone so quickly. He brushed off the hits like they were nothing.

"No… I won't." The boy spoke for the first time as he got back into position.

The next eight minutes were a match between David and Goliath with Goliath kicking the snot out of his smaller opponent. Stein was being forced to remember his position as a neutral judge as he watched the smaller boy get decked again and again. The entire audience was cheering on the overwhelming underdog every time he got back up and booed the big bully every time he hit the poor boy back down.

But as the match went on the boy was learning how to fight. His guard had changed completely and his sharp fakes and movement helped him avoid much of the damage. But even so, his reach was much too short and his attack patterns too predictable, so at the end of the eighth minute of the ten minute time limit match the boy was clearly losing. His had a prominent black eye and a cut lip, every inch of skin on his arms and much of his face were covered in bruises and he was panting heavily as he pulled himself back up off the ground for the fourteenth time. The boy didn't even seem to finch from his injuries, like the pain was nothing to him. But Stein could see it in the boy's soul, the injuries did hurt him, he just ignored the pain.

"Why… why won't you just stay down?" 63 said angrily as he himself was starting to run out of breath.

"Danny!" The girl shouted from the side line as everyone cheered for the boy.

"Don't worry Sam. I… I can still win." Danny said raising his arms. "I promised you that we would go together…" He panted. Stein personally was rooting for the kid at this point. He might lack experience but he was quick to adapt and refused to give up, good qualities for a meister if honed properly. But the simple truth was that he would not win, not without a miracle.

63 started to laugh at the absurdity. "You promised? What are you some kind of baby?"

Danny seemed to grind his teeth. "Yes… I promised." He said coldly. Stein shot up in his chair as the boy's soul began to grow stronger. It passed the level of the EAT class students at the DWMA and moved on to the strength of a two star meister, then that of a strong witch and quickly moved towards the strength of a three star meister. His lack of self-confidence seemed to melt away into resolve as his soul grew. His shoulders straightened, his head held higher and his eyes which had been blue up until that moment began to shine green.

"Stop!" Stein had seen everything he need to.

The boy looked at Stein in horror. "No, please, I still have a minute left." The boy begged. The boxer gave a look of triumph having been completely unable to sense the boy's soul.

"I've seen enough. This match is over." Stein said getting up and walking towards the stage. He reached up and started the twist the screw in his head and was pleased to see that the boy didn't shrink away. Stein stopped in front of the boy he stuck out his hand to the boy and smiled. "Welcome to the DWMA." Danny was momentarily shocked before he shook the mad doctor's hand. "Everyone else, go home and don't bother showing up tomorrow, you aren't DWMA material." Shouts of protest came from other assembled. But Stein was never one to care. He dropped a foot on the stage and the shock wave from his soul scared off any who might have been foolish enough to challenge one of the DWMA's most powerful meisters.

The boy looked up at Stein blinking though his eye that wasn't swollen shut as he tried to understand what was going on. "What's your name, kid?" Stein asked as he pulled out a cigarette.

"Danny… Danny Fenton." The boy said.

Stein looked at the boy with some surprise. "Fenton? As in the ghost hunters?" The boy nodded a little embarrassed. Stein smiled a bit. "I have read your parents' research documentation on the connection between the soul egg membranes and both repetitive and non-repetitive brain waves and external stimulus, as well as their documentation of a ghost's anatomy. They do good work." He said taking a puff on his cigarette. Danny looked shocked at the man's knowledge of his parents' work.

"Maybe I will see you and your friend around once you get to Death City." He said with a noncommittal shrug as he walked away waving back at the boy over his shoulder. 'An interesting specimen was standing right in front of me, and I didn't have the urge to tear him limb from limb to find out how he works.' Stein thought personally amazed.

Danny's knees gave way and he collapsed to the ground after the mad doctor left the room. "Danny!" Sam shouted coming up next to him. "Danny, are you ok?" She asked.

Danny looked up and smiled at her. It was amazing he didn't lose any teeth in the course of that fight. "I told you I would get in."

Sam chuckled softly. "I never doubted you for a second."

* * *

Doctor Stein had returned to Death City and was frantically at work on his computer when his visitor showed up. "Lord Death wants to know why you ended the tournament on the first day and gave the spot to a boy with no history in martial arts." Spirit asked his former partner from a safe distance from the mad doctor.

Stein paused and straightened up in his swivel chair. He reached his hand up and adjusted his screw. "I understand. But that boy wasn't normal. He is the son of the infamous ghost hunters, Jack and Maddie Fenton."

Spirit groaned. "More dissection crazed mad scientists." Death's personal weapon ran one hand through his blood red hair as he shuddered.

Stein chuckled. "No, the boy is nothing like that. His soul waves would suggest that his personality is closer to Maria's than mine. But I believe that long term exposure to his parents' research materials has affected the boy's soul." Stein turned around in his wheelie chair to face the Deathscythe. "He is untrained and it took a while for him to get angry and show his real power, but his soul wave was strong, nearly as powerful as my own." Spirit's eyes widened. Stein was the most power meister the DWMA had ever produced for a reason, no one knew that better than Spirit. So an untrained boy having a soul that was near as strong as his own was a surprise.

"On top of that he was only trying to get into the academy because his friend was recently shown to be a weapon, and the girl has a wavelength that would complement his." Stein said with certainty. "They will make a good pair for the DWMA. So I called off the rest of the tournament…" Then a grin shot across his face that scared the Deathscythe. "I couldn't risk having him lose and not coming to Death City. He is a valuable research material."

"Stein!" Spirit shouted at his gray haired colleague. "You can't dissect students!"

Stein laughed light heartedly. "Don't worry, dissecting him would be a waste anyways. I need to observe his development, his soul waves and his blood of course. Then I have to question him. If he died I wouldn't be able to do that, so I won't dissect him… yet."


	3. Orientation Day, is this place crazy?

I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.

* * *

"Sam… go on without me…" Danny moaned. The pamphlet for the Academy had warned about the staircase up to the school but Danny found that he was completely unprepared for that first challenge.

"Come on Danny, there are only like a hundred more." Sam said, she had yet to start breathing heavily. She had always been more physically fit than the young hero. "Come on, you're going to be my meister. You need to get into shape."

Danny groaned. "I swear, I am going to go back in time, find the guy who invented stairs, bring him here, and then throw him down these stairs."

"I don't think that Clockwork would let you do that." Sam said skeptically bringing up the ghost who guarded the timeline.

As they stood there a girl ran past them. She had wheat colored hair done up in pigtail and she was wearing a black trench coat and combat boots. Turning her head towards them she shouted. "Don't give up. You're almost there." Then she continued up the staircase.

Sam grinned at Danny. "See, you're really out of shape for a meister."

"Yeah, I know." Danny mumbled as he lifted his suitcase back up again and continued up the stairs.

Danny felt like he was about to die again by the time they reached the top of the stair. "I… I made it." Danny mumbled looking up. Then he spotted a boy in a suit with a slick hair cut that had three white strips on the left side of his head flying away on a flying skateboard. "Ha… that's cheating."

"Stop complaining." Sam said grabbing Danny by the collar and starting to pull him along. "Come on, we're going to be late for orientation."

Walking into the building they couldn't help but looking around in a little awe. The spacious and brightly light structure was full of people going about their everyday tasks before class. Even though they knew that all the weapons that they could see going down the halls were people, it was still surprising to hear their voices.

"So this is the legendary DWMA that has trained most of the heroes that guard world peace." Sam said looking around. "Sure beat Casper Middle School."

"That's for sure." Danny nodded in agreement. "Where do you think we are supposed to be going? We don't even know where the orientation room is."

"I don't know, maybe we should ask for directions or something." Sam said looking around.

"What? But Sam, bad things always happen when we try to…" Danny whined but stopped as she threw him a glare. Danny sighed. "Fine." Looking around Danny spotted a guy standing a few feet away. "Excuse me could you…"

"You think you can stand up to me! Not in a million year!" Someone shouted and Sam saw a boy dashing around going straight for the guy Danny was about to talk to. The kid was short, probably only five feet tall, was dressed up in a sleeveless ninja suit and had spiked up blue hair and a tattoo of a star on his shoulder.

He delivered a devastating punch to the face of the guy Danny was trying to get the attention off and knocked him back into Danny who was sent flying into the wall hard enough to crack the billboard behind him. Danny slide down to the ground as the unconscious student that had flown into him fell off to the ground.

The blue haired kid put his hands on his waist began to laugh. "That will teach you to stand against the great Black Star!" He boasted.

"What the heck do you think you're doing you idiot!" Sam shouted at the boy startling him. "You just flattened my friend!"

"What?" Black Star said looking over and seeing Danny against the wall. "Woops guess I didn't see him there. But it's so hard to keep track of those kinds of things when you're as big as I am."

"Oh great oblivious and delusional." Sam said crossing her arms.

"What?" Black Star said his voice a little loud. "Ha are you trying to start something?"

"Black Star, please." A girl came up behind the boy. She was tall and had delicate features like a flower. Her long black hair tied back in a ponytail and she too was in a ninja suit with a star over her right breast. She turned to Sam and Danny. "I'm really sorry. Black Star tends to be a little bit careless, please forgive him."

"Why should we when he doesn't even seem to be slightly sorry." Sam said angrily.

"Sam, it's all right I'm fine." Danny said getting up and rubbing his soar head. "It isn't like this is the first time I have been thrown into a wall."

"See, he's cool about it. He understands that it is an honor to be caught up in one of my fight, because I am BLACK STAR, the man how will surpass god!" Black Star shouted loudly. Sam turned her hand into a slab of metal and karate chopped the boy in the head.

The two of them continued to argue and soon both Danny and the new girl gave up trying to calm down their friends. "Sorry about Sam, she really is a good person, but she has a hard time letting things go." Danny apologized for his friend. "I'm Danny by the way."

"No I should be the one saying sorry, you get hurt because of my partner. I'm Tsubaki and Black Star is my meister." She said bowing her head in apology.

"Don't worry. We're pretty used to it." Danny said nodding. Then he remembered why he had been caught up in that in the first place. "Oh, I don't suppose you could give us directions to where the orientation is?"

"Oh, your new students, welcome to the DWMA." Tsubaki said with a smile.

"Wait you need directions? Sure we'll take you!" Black Star shouted seemingly distracted from his argument with Sam.

"What, but Black Star, we need to get to class." Tsubaki said a little worried.

"Huh you worry too much, Tsubaki. I have to show these two how sorry I am and that I'm the bigger man by helping them find their way." Black Star said putting his hands on his side and straightening up again. Danny felt a little inferior to the other meister, despite being short the guy was completely ripped and Danny had yet to see his confident grin leave his face. "And it isn't like someone as great as me needs to go to class anyways." He then began to laugh loudly causing Sam to rub her temples.

Sure enough Black Star did lead them all the way to the orientation room. Even Sam was secretly grateful. The school was built like a maze and they would have gotten lost without his help.

"Thanks for showing us the way." Danny said as they arrived at right door.

"Don't worry about it. Everyone gets lost on their first day, well except for me of course." Black Star boasted as Tsubaki rolled her eyes as if to say that he gotten lost too. "Oh and here." Black Star said handing Danny a piece of paper. "Think of it as an apology." He said before running off. "Come on Tsubaki, we can't be too late, that wouldn't be right for someone as big as me!"

Tsubaki sighed gave Danny and Sam a short bow before running off to catch up to her meister. Looking down at the paper he found that it was Black Star's autograph. "That guy is so annoying, he makes me feel like I need a nap." Sam said.

"He wasn't that bad." Danny said trying to calm down his friend. "He just has a few… socializing issues." Danny then tried to lead her into the room.

* * *

Anastasia Yngling was no ordinary girl, much to her own displeasure, she was the princess of a wealthy country and as such her life have been controlled by her parents, advisers and attendants. But the one thing that she had always wanted to do was to run away from it all, to live in the world of commoners.

She had never really met a commoner before but she had an idea in her mind of what they were. She had heard stories and fairytales of the average but brave people who lived such carefree lives but beautiful lives.

And so with the help of her favorite teacher she planned her escape from her own home, the land that acted like a prison for her. She ran away and entered a Meister qualification tournament and easily won using her royal karate style, allowing her entrance into her sanctuary, Death City. She believed that she would be able to live among the commoners and be safe from being dragged back to her home land. After all, members of the DWMA were under the protection of Lord Death himself, and only a madman would try to drag one of his students away against their will. So the princess entered the academy under the alias, Anya Hepburn, in order to meet some commoners and make some real friends.

The princess sighed as she looked out the window in the orientation room of the DWMA. "I slipped out of that cramped castle, and came here to see the commoner's world, but this place was the choice." She looked around at the assembled students. "There's no way that the commoners that I'm picturing would be in a specialized school like this. I'm such a birdbrain. All these students here are so unusual."

"Excuse us." Anya turned her head to the door as she heard the voice. "Sorry we're late, we got… caught up in something." The speaker was a girl, she had black hair done up in a small ponytail and violet eyes, he clothes there very strange being a purple and black outfit, one of the options for the uniforms at the Academy. It was clear that she was making a statement of some kind, even if Anya couldn't tell what it was.

"Don't worry but in the future you should make time in you're schedules for the unexpected. Thing happen at this school, that just the kind of place it is." The African American teacher, Sid, said as he looked at the new comers. He was rather big and wore a headband, he was not the average teacher that Anya had been hoping for.

But Anya's eyes widened as she saw the boy who had came with the girl. "That's it." She said to herself. The boy had black hair in a non-descriptive style, he had no figure or build to speak of and his uniform was a casual choice of an ordinary pair of jean shorts and a t-shirt with a jacket over it. He had a pleasant smile and soft features that seemed cute to the runaway princess even though she almost overlooked him because of his underwhelming presents. "A commoner."

"So give me your name and whether you're a weapon or a meister." Sid said looking at a clipboard.

"I'm Sam Manson, I'm a weapon." Sam said confidently. Sid nodded writing something down and handing the girl a pin that said 'weapon'.

"And you?" Sid asked looking up and down the boy. "Are you a weapon too?"

The boy looked taken aback. "What? No, I'm Danny Fenton, I'm a meister."

Sid blinked at the boy in shock. But then a look of remembrance crossed his face. "The one that Stein let in." He said shortly nodding before handing the boy a 'meister' pin. "Try not to get hurt." Sid said before they turned and walked away.

"What was that about?" Danny said slight indignant. "Is it really that hard to believe that I'm a meister?"

"Well, you're short, scrawny, out of shape, you lack outward confidence and motivation…" Sam started listing things off.

"Ok I get it, I'm a loser." Danny said rolling his eyes as Sam began to laugh.

"You're not a loser Danny, you're just unmotivated. And the teacher probably heard about the fact that you didn't really win the tournament back in Amity Park." Sam justified. Danny and Sam had been two of the last people to arrive. The only ones to arrive after them was a normal looking girl with average length black hair and a rather flat chest but a cute face and smile, as Anya would say, 'a commoner'. The girl was a weapon and her name was Tsugumi. Shortly after her were two boys, a middle height blond boy whose stance and attitude spoke of white trash who was a weapon and a giant guy with black hair that seemed to be trying to intimidate everyone with his sure size and huge build, he was a meister. Each of them looked to be around seventeen or eighteen, much older than most of the other students.

"That's everybody, right?" Sid said as he walked to the front of the room behind a small pedestal. "Welcome to the DWMA. I'm Sid, one of the teachers here. There are those of you here who transform into weapons, and those of you who wish to be meisters, who fight with the weapons. There are probably those of you among the weapons who are not yet able to transform under your own will yet. But there is no rush. This is the school where you will learn that."

Sam felt a little embarrassed, she could transform her hands at will, but she had yet to fully transform into a weapon in the week since she had first found out she was a weapon.

"How lame." The blond weapon said in a smug voice. "You got people like that here?"

Sam glared at him as was about to give him a piece of her mind but she felt a small tug on her sleeve and turned to see Danny shaking his head. With a small sigh she pushed down the urge to knock the white trash kid out.

"From here on, you will have to choose partners; meisters with weapons, and weapons with meisters." Sid said as he wrote it on the board. Danny and Sam had already decided to be partners, it was the entire reason Danny had come along. "For still-inexperienced weapons in particular, the meister you partner with is important. Just as one cannot become a parent without a child, without a meister that can use a weapon, it will be difficult to become a weapon. Take your time and find a partner you have good chemistry with. I'm not an eloquent man, that's just not the kind of man I am. I think it will be quicker for you to understand if you actually see partners with matching wavelengths for yourselves. Come on in."

The door opened and two students came in stopping in the middle of the room, a boy and a girl. Danny and Sam recognized the girl as the one from the stairs, the boy with her was dressed rather casually and had white hair and blood red eyes. His teeth were razor sharp and reminded the freshmen of a shark's. "These are your upperclassmen, the meister Maka Albarn, and the weapon Soul Eater." The name raised a few eyebrows.

The girl stepped forward. "Nice to meet you all. I'm Maka." She said and then looked at the group. She smiled when she saw Tsugumi standing in the crowd.

"Okay, you two, begin." Sid said to the two who nodded. The boy glowed with a bright blue light that engulfed his form. The light twisted and flew into the air before turning into an enormous scythe with a steel handle and a black and crimson blade.

"He transformed into a weapon!" Tsugumi said in surprise as the freshmen moved to the windows to give the seniors room.

"Harudori, you're a weapon too, aren't you?" Another girl meister with brown hair and a zoned out expression named Meme asked Tsugumi.

"Oh… I still can't do it like that…" Tsugumi said embarrassed making Sam feel more comfortable.

"The weapon and meister are both people. That is not just a 'thing'." Sid said.

"If we acknowledge each other's wills and match our breathing, then without even added force… he'll move!" Maka said as she held out her partner in her hand in front of her. Without her moving a muscle the scythe began to spine around the girl's hand. After a moment of him kicking up wind she grabbed the pole and swung the blade out behind her. Jumping to the air the scythe-boy started to spin again around the girl's body as if they were dancing.

The freshmen stared on in awe. But Danny felt a ping of uncertainty. 'What if Sam and I don't have compatible waves? What if I don't even have waves? I'm not even really human. What if I came all this way for nothing?'

As the two upperclassmen got to the end of their display the meister bowed to the new students as the podium fell to pieces behind her to the annoyance of the teacher. "This is a weapon and meister partnership. You will learn all about it little by little in your classes. Right now, just sense out your feelings. That's all for today. You are dismissed."

All the students began to file out but Sam noticed that Danny's movements were even more sluggish than usual. "What's the matter?" She asked him.

"What? There's nothing wrong." Danny said denying everything.

Sam crossed her arms and gave him a look. "We've been friends for eight years Danny, I know when something is wrong. Now speak up."

Danny sighed knowing that Sam was way too stubborn to let it go. "I guess I'm just worried that we might not turn as compatible as partners. What if I just end up holding you back?" Danny said and then closed his eyes waiting for the laugh.

He didn't have to wait long. "Danny, you really worry too much. It isn't like we would stop being friends if we won't partners. Let's not venture into the 'what will we do if we fail' until after we try." Sam said and then gave Danny a light chop on the head. "Besides, do you think you could get any other partner? You are pretty scrawny."

Danny chuckled softly. What was he worried about, he knew every word that Sam was going to say before she said it. If they couldn't become partners, then no one could. "I am suddenly reminded of those seminars at middle school about abusive relationships." Danny joked.

"Yah yah, now stop yapping and get me a sandwich, cause we both know how's wearing the pants here." Sam joked back as they walked to the door chuckling.

"Fenton! Come here for a second. I need to speak to you alone." Sid shouted to the boy as they were about to leave the room. Danny was by to Sam and walked back to the teacher. "I understand that you did not win in your regional tournament, but you're here now so we will just forget about it, you will be treated the same as all the other students." Sid said and Danny nodded a little embarrassed. "That said I am worried about you're safety as my student. The man who accepted you into the DWMA is a dangerous individual." Sid said before quickly adding. "He is not evil, he just has… issues. It is just the kind of man he is."

"What do you mean?" Danny said a bit confused.

"Stein is extremely obsessive… and he has shown an interest in you. And the things he is interested in he usually tries to… experiment on. As you have seen, his own body was no exception." Sid said. Danny winced slightly. "Don't worry. Lord Death has forbidden him from doing anything harmful to any innocent person, especially a student, and Stein has always respected Lord Death… but you are not to be alone with that man under any circumstances. Do I make myself clear?" Danny nodded cursing his luck. "Good, you're dismissed."

* * *

Sam had just step outside to find the two older freshmen boys standing with Anya, Meme, and Tsugumi and the girls did not look happy. Anya was standing in front of the other two with her chest puffed out with pride. "Are you looking for a fight!?" The weapon boy shouted at Anya. "Actions do the talking here at DWMA! Let's go!"

"Fascinating. All right, let's do this, why don't we?" Anya said still proud and proper.

"I won't go easy, just because you're a girl…" The weapon started but the blond princess cut him off.

"Spare me the embarrassing puffery." Anya said angering the weapon boy even further. "Harudori, was it? You're a weapon, right?" Anya asked the weapon girl behind her. "Please, transform yourself at once."

"But… I can't… transform properly yet." Tsugaru mumbled guiltily.

"If you can't transform, then go on home!" The boy weapon shouted at the little girl.

"Why don't you two take a hike!?" Sam shouted as she joined the group of girls. "Didn't you hear the teacher, a lot of us can't transform when we first get here and we will learn how. But I doubt that either of you two is going to grow a brain anytime soon."

The two boys looked a bit surprised by her sudden appearance but that just made them angrier. "Why don't you just say out of our way! This doesn't concern any of you!" The large meister boy shouted.

"We'll just fight both of them. This will be over before it even starts. Transform!" The weapon boy shouted. His body was covered in light just like with Soul Eater but when the larger boy caught it and the light faded the boy had turned into a dagger, only his head didn't transform with the rest of the body and the large meister was holding him by his head causing his face to stretch. "How 'bout that!? I can completely transform everything but my head!" The boy boasted.

Sam opened her mouth but then Danny appeared in the middle of the group. "Wow, let's all calm down." He said in a joking voice never losing his carefree smile.

"What the, get out of the way!" The large meister shouted. "We're fighting here!"

"Come on now, there's no need for any of this. We're all going to be classmates from own on, right? Why don't we try to get along?" Danny said turning to each group in turn trying to play the peace maker.

Sid was watching on with two undercover EAT class students. "Sid aren't you going to do something?" Clay asked. The blond haired weapon was not happy about the teacher's inaction.

"Stein said the boy was slow to get serious, but if the doc let him in then he should be fine. Stein is crazy, but he is a good judge of character. It's just the kind of man he is. And besides, fights like this happen all the time here. That just the kind of school this is." Sid said with a shrug.

"So that's the kid then?" Sid turned his head slightly to see the Deathscythe Spirit coming towards him. "I came to see what poor kid got the Mad Doctor's attention. The boy doesn't look like much."

"I guess we will just have to see." Sid said looking over to the group.

The bullies got fed up with Danny trying to talk the situation away and decided to take action while his back was turned to them. "I said get out of my way you loser!" The meister shouted bringing down the dagger across Danny's back as Danny was trying to calm down Sam. Danny had not been prepared and staggered forward into the girls. The cut was across his left shoulder and Danny fell down onto one knee as his right hand went up to grab the open wound.

"You bastards!" Sam shouted pushing past Danny but a hand grabbed her wrist. Looking back she saw Danny still smiling.

"It's ok, Sam. It wasn't deep." Danny said calmly despite having been cut.

"I don't get it." Anya said getting Danny's attention. "I heard that commoners were strong, powerful, cheerful, fun people who would never let others step all over them." She said with a note of disapproval. "You're not that way at all."

"I just don't want to fight." Danny said smiling at the runaway princess.

"No Danny, we can't let them do this, we have to fight back!" Sam shouted angrily at her friend.

"Why don't you all shut up!?" The weapon boy said as he was brought up towards Sam. Danny's eyes widened with horror as Sam staggered back. He hadn't cut her, but the front of Sam's top had been cut open and her pale skin and moderate chest was left out for the world to see.

"Sam!" Danny shouted the smile finally leaving his face as his best friend covered herself with her arms. The girl closed her eyes and gritted her teeth with the shame of being exposed by the brutes.

"Well well, who would have guessed there was such a hot body under those restricting clothes?" The older meister said grinning like a wild animal. "Maybe I should take you as my partner. What do you say you little bitc…" He never finished the word.

Everyone in the hall went slack jawed as Danny delivered a punch into the stomach of the other meister sending him flying eight feet back and landing on his back with a loud thud. "Let me make one thing clear." Danny said as he straightened himself. "You can do whatever you want to me… but…" Bright green rage flowed into his eyes. "No one hurts my friends!"

Sam, as well as Sid and Spirit, saw the green orb of Danny's soul rapidly expand until it filled the entire width of the hall. His hair was rippling slightly and his loose clothes flapped about in the wind of his soul. Even the nearby doors shook slightly from its pressure. The bloody cut on Danny's back glowed a soft green and began to close in front of everyone's eyes until it was nothing but a light scar.

"A healing soul wavelength?" Spirit said in shock.

"Sam, are you alright?" Danny asked looking slightly away from his friend as to not stare at her exposed body.

Sam sighed. "I would be better if you had just done that sooner. Seriously Danny it takes too much to get you mad these days."

"Sorry." He whispered as he looked at the bullies who were starting to get up. "Sam… lets show them what we can do."

Sam's eyes widened. "But Danny, I can't transform into a…" She started but she stopped when saw Danny's bright green eyes. She sighed. "Fine, I'll do it, you lovable idiot."

Closing her eyes she took a deep breath. 'Danny, you really are amazing. You have always been there for me, helping me and protecting me, even when we were just little kids. It was only because of you that I had the courage to be myself.' Sam thought as she searched herself for what she needed. A dark purple orb appeared in her mind's eye. 'I won't let you fight alone, not anymore!'

Sam's body glowed a dark purple and soon her body disappeared. The light flew though the air and Danny grabbed it in his hand. It extended into a long black pole and then at the top of one end there was a flat square metal plate on one side at a ninety degree angle with the pole. The moment she touched Danny's hand Danny felt different. He easily spun Sam around and grabbed her just below the metal head in his clean left hand, dropping into a stance.

"What the!" The dagger boy laughed. "Is that a till? That's not a weapon that's a gardening tool!"

"Why don't you just get over here so we can give you your beating and move on with the day?" Sam's voice came from the till.

"Don't worry, we'll try to hold back." Danny said the grin back on his face, only it seemed colder than before, more confident than friendly. "Wouldn't want to kill whatever brain cells you have." The two larger boys growled with anger and the meister ran at Danny swinging his weapon around rapidly.

Danny had never felt anything like it. His hands were moving of their own accord as he defected all the attacks. 'It's like Sam knows where to go and is just telling me what I need to do.' Danny thought as he easily pushed the large bully back with a hit from the bottom of Sam's pole.

"You punk!" The meister shouted as he moved towards Danny again swing the dagger boy wide.

"Danny, now!" Sam shouted. Danny lifted up the till with his left and jabbed quickly hitting the face in the center of the dagger hard with Sam's flat metal plate. The dagger was knocked out of the meister's hand and sent flying back.

Then Danny dropped and spun left letting Sam slide between his fingers as he spun until she hooked around the larger meister's legs. Pulling Sam back he easily toppled the giant who flew into the air in such a way that his back ended up turned to Danny with his feet over his head. Danny bloodied right hand shown green and he struck the giant in the back, shooting him away again and causing him to land hard on his stomach.

"What the hell?" Spirit said staring at the boy who stood proud with his weapon in hand. "Damn that Mad Scientist."

"He was not kidding when he said it took a lot to get the boy going. But the power once he started is just unreal." Sid nodded.

The meister started to push himself back to his feet and he grabbed the dagger. "You… how dare you." He growled. "I'm bigger than you. I'm supposed to win!"

"Dream on." Sam's voice said. "No one can beat Danny once he gets serious."

"Sam… let's show them what we can really do." Danny said his right hand coming up and grabbing the bottom of Sam's pole from behind his back. They could both feel it, each other's breathing as their minds cleared.

'Sam… everything I am today is because of you. I've always depended on you for everything and you always helped me to decide what was right and what I needed to do. I would have never become a ghost if it wasn't for you. I would never have become a hero if it wasn't for you. Even now I can feel you helping me, guiding my hand.' Danny thought as he gathered his strength. 'I will give you all I have. I will always be the person you can depend on!'

'Danny… you have always supported me. Even now it's your power that is flowing though me. It's simply incredible. You have always fought to protect me and help me be myself.' Sam thought as she basked in Danny's strength. 'But I will not just be a burden for you. I will become your weapon. It's my turn to support you!'

"No fucking way!" Spirit said wide eyed. He didn't even need to use soul perception to tell the change in the two's souls anymore, he could see it with his naked eye. All the students backed up as Danny's body glowed green and the till that was Sam glowed purple.

"Is this the legendary strength of the commoners I had heard about?" Anya said in amazement. The two auras swirled together into a deep black which covered them both. The boy pulled his weapon partner up in the air above him with his right hand and the black aura thread itself around the head of the till. It grew into a giant black Phantom emblem that gleamed green and purple around the edges.

"GHOST HUNTER!" Danny and Sam's voices ran through the hall even though neither of them had said anything. The attack smashed into the ground in front of their opponents and sent the meister and his dagger weapon flying on last time. They hit the far wall and were completely battered by the debris that came from the leveled hallway floor.

The aura that had been surrounding the younger pair vanished. A ten foot wide trail of destruction starting at were the attack hit the ground extended out in a straight line for twenty feet. "Oh crap, we didn't kill them did we?" Danny said in a panic.

"What the heck did we even do?" Sam voice asked.

"Sid…" Spirit said at his body was covered in sweat.

"Yes, Spirit…" Sid said a little slack jawed himself.

"Did they just perform a Soul Resonance without realizing it?" The Deathscythe asked the teacher.

"It is what it is…" The teacher said as the students cheered for the victors. Even some of the upperclassmen had wondered out into the halls after sensing the boy's soul. Sam transformed back and Danny quickly gave her is jacket before searching for her suitcase for her. "Clay… could you get Ms. Medusa to look at the injured?"

"On it teach." Clay said before run off down the hall.

"So we're not going to tell Stein about this are we?" Spirit said looking at the new students chatting friendly in the wake of the fight.

"No, I think it would be smarter if we didn't. After all, there is no telling what that madman would do."

"My thoughts exactly." Spirit said nodding.

"I didn't say anything." Sid said gulping. They turned their heads to see Doctor Stein with a small instrument in his hand.

"I got some good readings from the fight, but none of them excide my per-programmed expectations." Stein said calmly reaching up to twist his head screw. He then looked to the shocked faces of the of two DWMA members. "You shouldn't be so surprised. Anyone with even moderate soul perception could feel their soul waves flaring up from outside the school boundaries." He said with a smile. Putting the device away he started to walked away from the group of children. "I was supposed to report to Lord Death today, I shouldn't keep him waiting."

The entrance to Lord Death's room or the Death Room was a long path over arched by model guillotines that looked as if they would come down on you at any moment. On either side of the stretch is a desert waste land that extends past vision even though the space was definitely inside the Academy.

But even with the extreme set pieces there, no student who had actually meet Lord Death was afraid while they entered. Stein was even less afraid as he strolled underneath the blades and looked at the grave markers that littered the field.

As he came up towards the small circular platform that acted as the actual meeting area well Death called on visits, Stein saw the Lord himself sitting down at a small table drinking tea with another individual. Death looked rather goofy with the black cloak that covered his body and the more childishly designed white mask that he started to wear after he opened up a school. Death lifted up the small tea cups with his comically large white gloved hands and took a sip. Stein could hear his goofy chuckles as he approached. It was all the same Lord Death as usual.

But the visitor was someone new to him. The man, if he could be called that, had a purple travels coat on. From what Stein could see of him he didn't have any legs, but instead had a wispy tail where they should have been. In the middle of his chests was a grandfather clock and his arms were covered his dozens of different kinds of watches. As he glanced at Stein the Mad Doctor got a like at his face. He had blood red eyes with a scar running down through one of them. He had a curious smile plastered on his face, as if he had a joke that only he understood and was in no way inclined to share.

Stein instantly realized this was no ordinary visitor. His soul was like Lord Deaths, to powerful for the doctor to even comprehend. This person sitting before him sipping tea was not a living being, but a fact of reality, eternal and indisputable.

"Well my old friend it looks like it is time for me to go." The visitor said flouting up and lifting a staff with a clock on the end of it.

"It was so nice of you to come. You really shouldn't be such a stranger." Lord Death said happily bouncing around as he got up.

"Maybe I will, but then again, only time will tell." The being said mysteriously as he swung his staff and disappeared.

"Lord Death, if might be so bold to ask, who was that?" Stein said as he sat down in the spot that was left empty by the guest and pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Oh, that was just my old friend Clockwork. He came to tell me that all our effort are going to fail and that the Kishin will be revived." Death said sitting back down. "Nothing to worry about."

Stein looked over at his leader. Clockwork was a name that was familiar to him. Just like Death was once known as Madness through Order, Clockwork was another one of the Eight Powerful Warriors, Madness through Fate. "That sounds like something we really should be worried about."

"Well it is something that was going to happen eventually. The most we can do is keep preparing and have faith in the defenses that we have set down." Lord Death said with a shrug. The Death clapped his hands together. "Speaking of which, how are things?" Stein sighed knowing that he wasn't going to get any more information from Lord Death so he started to give his report.


	4. A New City, with ninjas and doctors?

I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.

* * *

"You two were so cool!" Tsugaru said excitedly to Sam.

"Oh… um thanks." Sam said looking away from the group of girls as they all sat in front of the school waiting to be lead to the dorms. All students were supposed to room with their partners. Sam and Danny had been the only opposite gender partners in the incoming group of students, so they were going to the Co-ed Dorm but all the other boy had already been taken away. So it was only the two of them with the three girls from before; Tsugaru, Meme, and Anya. Both Meme and Anya made their desire to become Tsugaru's partner known after the fight.

"Do you think you could give me some pointers? Pretty please?" Tsugaru said flapping her hands in front of her.

"I would, but that was the first time I had ever managed to fully transform myself." Sam admitted, a little freaked out by the girl's forwardness. "I can't even remember what I did."

"You forgot too?" Meme said a dazed look about her. The brunette meister reached up a hand and scratched her head. "I can't seem to remember what happened either."

"Wait… you really forgot?" Danny said a bit surprised.

Meme looked at him a bit confused. "Was it something important?"

Danny looked at little unsure but then just shook his head and smiled. "No, not really."

"Commoners are as amazing as I always heard they were." Anya said as she clasped her hands in front of her.

"Wait, what did you just say?" Sam said the sound of an upcoming argument clear in her voice.

Danny was preparing to intercept when they were disrupted by another student. "Excuse me, but you are the new freshmen, correct?"

A girl in a tame sister nun like uniform with twin black braids came up to them. She had on rather plan glasses and stood in front of the group with a pleasant enough smile. Sam had to swallow down on her horror of the anti-feminist as the group nodded that they were indeed the new students.

"Welcome to the DWMA, I'm going to be taking you all to the girls' dormitory and then a pair from the coed dorm will come to pick those of you that will be staying there since they are in the same direction." The girl said before turning and starting to walk. "Please follow me."

As they walked, Tsugaru and Meme both were very open towards Sam, even though they seem more embarrassed about talking with Danny, since they didn't have that much experience with boys. Sam was outside of her comfort zone since the only female friends she had ever had were other people in her protest groups, who were all college students, and Jazz. For the most part, she had always only been with Danny and Tucker.

They had been walking for about five minutes when someone finally asked a question. "Ms. Upperclassmen…" Tsugaru started.

"My name is Eternal Feather." The girl said calmly. The over the top name was odd for the rather plan girl.

"Um… Ms. Eternal Feather, how much further is it?" Tsugaru asked.

"It is just a little further on the opposite side of the outdoor market." Eternal Feather said. Anya seemed to perk up at the words 'outdoor market'.

"Tsugaru, where are we going again?" Meme asked.

"What, we're going to the girls' dorm, silly." Tsugaru said to her forgetful friend.

"Oh right, I guess I forgot." Meme said chuckling.

"You're beyond forgetful." Tsugaru giggled as they walked out of the alley into the outdoor market.

Anya was practically glowing with excitement as she looked at all the booths and arrangements of goods in the street. Sam had a more controlled look of approval on her face. "Private and local dealers with their own lives and stories. It's so much better than the heartless industry that consumes most of today's markets." Sam said as she looked from shop to shop as they walked passed.

The other girls looked confused at what she was saying. "Sorry, Sam's a bit of an activist." Danny said explaining a bit of the girl's actions and way of thinking. "You know; fight the power, down with big industry, work to help your fellow man, and protect the environment." Danny said rubbing the back of his neck. "She's a bit of an extremist though."

Sam threw him a scowl. "No, you just aren't taking it seriously enough. This world has problems and it is up to the people of the world to solve them." Sam said seriously.

The rest of the walk through the market street was spent with the girls listening in growing revulsion to Sam more and more vivid descriptions of the world's problems. It ended up in the way most of Sam's rants end, with everyone desiring to have as little to do with those things as possible, their by making sure that no one helped her in the end.

Danny was so used to it that he didn't even register most of what she said. He knew that Sam would drag him along for some form of volunteer work or other. And every time she did something bad would happen to him. As far as Danny cared it was just who the world worked.

"Oh I almost forgot, I was supposed to give you all your first weeks allowance." Eternal Feather said hoping to change the subject off of the outrageous living conditions of chickens. She pulled out five envelopes of money. "Now you can spend it any way you like, but you will need to pay for your own meals and daily expenses."

"Even taking out meals and whatnot, this is far more than the allowance I got at home." Tsugaru said looking into the envelope.

"You cannot get an advance on your allowance, so starting tomorrow, if you don't have anything to eat, you'll have to get a job to earn more money, so keep that in mind." Eternal Feather said.

"A job? You mean part-time work?" Anya said. Danny was surprised to hear the excitement in her voice. What kind of kid wanted to get a job? Danny himself had done a couple of odd jobs and Sam had dragged him to volunteer work, so he was a little more worry.

"I'm still at a middle-school age, so I've never had a job before." Tsugaru said not noticing her friend's eagerness.

"Same here." Meme said smiling.

"What? How old are you?" Tsugaru asked.

"I'm 14." Meme said.

"Oh, we're the same!" Tsugaru said excitedly. But then looked down at Meme's well developed chest and frowned. "And yet… different."

Sam chuckled. "Danny and I are 14 too." Sam said with a shrug.

"I'm also 14." Anya muttered.

"The DWMA often has varied ages, even in the same classes." Eternal Feather said.

"Wow, it's nice that we are all the same age!" Tsugaru said cheerfully. Anya and Meme nodded happily. Danny and Sam were not so sure, their group had never really opened up to outsiders. It was the nature of those with secrets, they avoided anyone discovering at all costs.

"We're here." Eternal Feather said as they stopped at the front gate of a large mansion. "This is the girls dormitory."

"Amazing! Meme, Anya, isn't it nice?" Tsugaru asked in her cheery voice.

"I was expecting a more modest, guesthouse-like place." Anya said looking around the garden at the opening path.

"Well it does have to house almost all the girls that go to school, so it makes sense that it's big." Sam reasoned.

"That's right." Eternal Feather nodded at turned to Sam and Danny. "You two can either wait out here for the person who will be taking you to the coed dorm or you can come inside and wait at the stairs."

Danny looked to Sam and as usually she decided without even asking him. "We might as well take a look inside." Sam said with a shrug. Danny didn't mind that she didn't ask for his opinion, it wasn't like it was an important decision anyways and it happened pretty often.

"Ok." Eternal Feather said before turning back to the front door of the girls' dorm. But her hand paused right over the handle. "Oh one more thing I'd like you to remember…" She said in a voice so soft it was hardly more than a whisper. "Watch out for the girls' dorm witch."

"Huh? Witch?" Tsugaru asked with a sharp intake of breath. She looked around as if she expected to see a wrinkly old hag reaching out at her.

"All right, welcome to the DWMA's girls' dorm!" Eternal Feather said cheerfully. Before opening up the door and walking in.

"There's no way the DWMA has a witch." Anya scoffed as she entered the building.

"They'd get along like cats and dogs with each other." Meme agreed.

"I'm sure if there is a witch, then she is probably a good person." Danny said walking in next.

"Danny's right, if there is a known witch here than the DWMA thinks that she is safe." Sam agreed. Tsugaru still didn't seem sure. She was the last to follow the others into the dorm.

* * *

The entrance hall was a bit old fashioned with the wooden staircase and old picture frames of old curtains. But it seemed friendly enough. Right next to the stairs was a green coach with a desk in front of it and sitting there was a little girl, probably only nine or ten years old wearing a hooded cape with little animal ears on it. The group could just see a bit of blond hair so light that it appeared white sticking out from under her hood. She was shuffling around a large pile of card on the desk in front of her.

"This is Kana Altair." Eternal Feather said introducing the girl to the group. The little girl looked up and she had rose-colored eyes and an indifferent expression that seemed a little cute to the new comers. "She's good at telling fortunes."

"Oh Tarot Cards, cool." Sam said looking down at the table.

"I will read your fortune for today." Kana looked at Sam and pulled up a card. The card showed a man sitting on a chariot that was being pulled by black and white sphinxes. 'The Chariot' was written on the bottom of the card but it took a second longer to read since the girl had drawn it upside down.

"So conflict is in my future. Like I am going to get into a fight." Sam said. Kana nodded with a slight smile.

Then she looked to Tsugaru, she shuffled the cards about a little and pulled another one. "Here it is." Kana said. The card had a depiction of a burning building with people jumping out of the higher floors. This one was labeled 'The Tower'. "Woe. Watch yourself, newbie."

"Wait, j...j...just a bit more detail?" Tsugaru begged. Danny had to stop himself from chuckling as Tsugaru began to panic. Though Danny did take the fortunes seriously, he had learned from Clockwork, that though the timeline isn't written in stone, that doesn't mean you can't see or read into likely futures.

Kana looked over to Danny and pulled a third card. It had a picture of a wheel with different symbols on it and a sphinx standing on top of it. And surrounded by five gold shapes; a snake, a dove, an angel, a winged cow and a winged lion. Below the picture were the words 'Wheel of Fortune'. The card was upside down. "Misfortune." Kana said simply as Sam started to laugh.

Danny just gave a shrug. "Sounds about right."

"You can't honestly believe that a child can divine anything using tarot cards?" Anya scoffed.

Kana glared at Anya and lifted up a card. "Fool." It was 'The Fool' card, only instead of the official display it had a picture that showed one plus one equaling three. Kana was holding it upside down.

"What?" Anya said angrily.

"Pig." Kana said holding up a card with a picture of a pig on it. Sam began to laugh again.

"The tarot doesn't even have that card!" Anya shouted in indignation.

"Go home." Kana said holding up a card with a house on it.

"What is with this girl!? She may be small, but she's insolent!" Anya shouted starting to move towards the little girl but Meme and Eternal Feather held her back.

But the scene ended when the front door slammed open and a shout echoed though the hall. "Yahoo!"

"Oh please no." Sam said as she shielded her eyes from the light of the doorway.

But sure enough, standing in the doorway was Black Star standing in a pose with a figure pointed towards the sky. "You can all rejoice now, because I, Black Star, have arrived!"

"The tarot cards are never wrong." Kana said seriously as Black Star approached.

Black Star went and put an arm around Danny's neck and smiled broadly. "So we meet again huh. I hear you already won your first fight here at school. I'm glad to see that I have been such a good influence on you." Black Star said happily. "You maybe scrawny but I'm going to make a fighter out of you. Consider yourself the new apprentice of the Great Black Star!" Danny looked horrified.

CLANG. Sam had turned one of her hands into a metal slab again and hit Black Star on the head. "What the heck are you talking about you hipped up little kid!" Sam shouted at the ninja.

"Little kid?" Black Star said angrily. "I think you need to get your eyes checked, I'm the biggest man in this room… no in this whole school!"

"I think you need to get your head checked because it only comes up to my shins." Sam mocked back. The two of them started to argue some more as the other girls looked on in horror.

"I'm sorry we are so late, Eternal Feather." The whole group jumped as they noticed Tsubaki standing next to them. "Black Star insisted on being the one to pick up the new students and then he immediately got into a fight before we left. I'm sorry." She bowed.

"Oh, it's ok, Miss Tsubaki." Eternal Feather flushed and bowed to the taller girl.

"It's alright, we haven't been here that long anyways." Danny said smiling and returning the bow a little awkwardly.

Tsubaki smiled. "Thanks, Black Star was really excited when he heard that you and Sam won your first fight here. He wanted to see you two again. Believe it or not, Black Star already thinks of you as friends."

"Well that's nice I guess." Danny said looking at him and Sam mocking each other. "I don't think Sam feels the same though."

"Almost no one does at first. But he starts to grow on people once they get used to the way he talks." Tsubaki chuckled. "He's may seem a little full of himself, but he really is selfless once you get to know him." She then started to walk towards her partner as Danny did the same. "Black Star, we really should be getting back to the dorms don't you think?"

"Oh, right." Black Star said with a wide grin. "Just follow me, I'll show you noobs the ropes so you don't get into too much trouble. So come on." Black Star said before running out the door. Sam groaned as she lifted up her suitcase and followed the energy ball.

* * *

"Alright, the first thing you need to know about the academy is that is divided into two main groups of students." Black Star said as they walked down the street. "And they are the 'NOT' students and the 'EAT' students. The words are supposed to stand for something but I don't really remember what, and it isn't really important anyways. All you need to know is that 'EAT' class students, like me and Tsubaki, are the ones that have prove that they can handle themselves and are allowed to go on missions. So if you're going to pick a fight, make sure it is with a 'EAT' class student, otherwise it won't mean anything."

"Aren't you supposed to say that we shouldn't fight people that out class us?" Danny said a bit confused. He didn't think that he was going to pick a fight with anyone.

"NO!" Black Star shouted causing some of the people on the street to jump. "You can't think like that. Listen, the teachers and staff are the ones that decide whether or not you join the 'EAT' class. So even if your grades are lousy you can still get in if you have a good reputation." Black Star said seriously.

"Everything you do is considered when they are thinking about letting you in; from how well you do in class and who you fight with, all the way down to your friends and what you spend your money and free time on." Tsubaki explained.

"So if they see that you spend a lot of time training then you are more likely to be picked." Sam asked.

Black Star nodded. "But more than that is who you are as a person and your morals. Everyone in the academy wants to be in the 'EAT' classes, but only around one in ten people get in. Those people who manage to graduate from them are considered the future heroes of peace." Black Star said. "If you are some kind of jerk that would pick on the weak or some wimp who doesn't have what it takes to stand up for what you believe in, then you won't get picked."

"Makes sense I guess." Danny said as they walked. "The school promotes fighting to improve yourself, but they are against bullying."

"Something like that." Tsubaki chuckled. "We're here."

Danny and Sam looked around and found that the coed dorm was drastically different than the girls' dorm. It was more modern and looked like a large apartment complex rather than a fancy mansion.

"Well this is different." Sam said crossing her arms. "A good different, but still different."

"Well, the coed dorm is newer than the others. It was only around fifty years ago that they decided that it was important for all partners to live together to improve their souls ability to work together. So the building is newer." Tsubaki said.

Danny and Sam followed Black Star towards an elevator in the side of the building when they heard someone shout. "You idiot!" accompanied by the sound of shattering glass.

Looking around they spotted Soul from the orientation demonstration flying out of a third story window. "Looks like Soul forgot that it was his turn to prepare dinner again!" Black Star laughed.

"Is he going to be ok?" Danny asked.

"He'll be fine. This happens at least once a week." Black Star shrugged. They got into the elevator and went up to the fourth floor. Standing in front of one of the doors Tsubaki pulled out a key.

The door opened up into a small kitchen like area with a dining room table to the right. In the back were three doors; presumable two bedrooms and a bathroom. "Unlike the boys' and girls' dorms the coed dorm doesn't have floor bathroom and kitchen areas." Tsubaki explained. "Each pair gets their own kitchen and bathroom, but you will need to buy kitchenware yourselves."

Danny and Sam stepped in and looked around. The room was more or less empty, but Danny new that the window areas were probably going to be stuffed with plants before long. Sam had been eyeing some stands at the outdoor market that had different plants on display.

"We'll be just down the hall, so if you need anything just come to Black Star!" Black Star said as he walked away laughing. Tsubaki sighed and gave a little bow before chasing after him.

"That guy is infuriating." Sam grumbled as she shut the door.

"Come on Sam, he's nice enough." Danny said defending the other boy.

"Yah yah, I'm going to sleep now." Sam said pulling her suitcase with her to the room on the left. "I'm going to go out tomorrow and look for something for us to do to kill the boredom. It sound like we should try getting a part-time job if we want to get into the 'EAT' class." Sam looked back at Danny. "If we're going to be here might as well make the most of it. Night."

"Good night." Danny said as she closed the door to her room. Danny sighed and dragged his suitcase with him to the opposite room. It had a bed in one corner and a right desk and bookcase in the other and there was just enough room to walk around. The first thing Danny did was open up his suitcase and pull out a poster of the night sky which he hung on his wall above his bed. Then he settled down on his new bed and closed his eyes. He was asleep before he knew it.

* * *

"Couldn't you have waited like three days before going and turning our new place into a virtual green house?" Danny asked Sam as they got out of line for lunch at the school cafeteria. Even though it was the weekend most of the students were still at there to eat. His arms ached from the six trips to and from the outdoor market carrying the large plants that Sam had bought in order to fill the room.

"It was good exercise and you need to put on a little more muscle." Sam said poking her partner's arm. "Don't forget, your pretty weak for a meister."

"Urg… watch the arms." Danny grumbled rubbing his sore arms. Looking around the cafeteria Danny spotted Tsugaru, Meme and Anya. "Hey girls." He said as he moved to sit at the table with them.

They looked at him with a bit of miserly of their face. At first Danny wondered what was wrong but then he notice that they were all sharing a single bowl of noodles. "Is… that all you have to eat?" He asked not wanting to sound to insulting. They nodded.

"How did you run out of money so fast?" Sam asked a bit confused. If only one or two of them had messed up it would be understandable, even expected since they were too young to know how to manage their own affairs, but all three by the middle of the first day.

They all just looked down at the small bowls in front of them. Danny sighed and pulled out enough money to buy them all lunch. "Here, get yourself something and then we can talk about whatever happened."

Twenty minutes later they had all eat something and the three girls explained why they were all out of money. Anya had immediately gone out and spent all her money after waking up in the morning and Meme had placed hers somewhere and then forgotten about it do to her bad memory.

The one that got under Sam's skin was Tsugumi's story. "Let me get this straight, the girls' dormitory's director attacked you in your sleep and she was stopped by an upperclassman who then demanded your week's allowance that you need for food and stuff as payment?" Sam summarized.

"Well… I wouldn't say demanded." Tsugumi said weakly.

"That jerk. How is that any different than someone beating you up and stealing your lunch money at a normal school?" Sam said angrily. "This is supposed to be a school for the future heroes of the world. A hero would have saved you out of the goodness of their heart, not for some kind of monetary gain." Sam spat.

"Calm down Sam, I sure she must have had her reasons. Maybe she just wanted to show Tsugumi that she needs to be more self reliant or something. You know the expression, 'teach a man to fish' and all that." Danny said trying to stop his weapon partner from making a scene.

"That has nothing to do with this situation and you know it!" Sam snapped at Danny.

"Well yelling about it isn't going to get us anywhere." Danny said shielding himself with his hands.

"I guess we are going to have to find a way to get us through until next week's allowance." Tsugumi said.

"Here try this." Sam said pulling out a catalogue of job requests for students. She had already decided what she was going to drag Danny to do for that day.

"A part-time job?" Meme said flatly.

"We have no choice." Tsugumi said with a nodded.

"You're right." Meme nodded.

"They'll have to pay by the day, so…" Tsugumi said as they leaned over the catalogue.

"A part-time job…" Anya murmured with a dazed look in her eyes.

"Anya?" Tsugumi said shocking the girl out of her day dreaming. "Is there anything you'd like?"

Anya flushed. "Any labor is out of the question for me." She said in a high and mighty manner that set off a blood vessel in Sam's head. But her true feeling shone through a moment later. "But since you insist, Tsugumi, I will just accompany you." Her flushed darkened as she quickly added. "I-I don't have any interest in cute uniforms, you understand…"

"Oh, uniforms?" Tsugumi said happily. This princess was completely transparent.

"How about this one?" Meme said pointing to a particular column. "Café waitressing. Uniforms provided, first-timers welcome."

"'This is a popular job for girls,' it says." Tsugumi read excitedly.

It seemed that the girls were in agreement but they looked over to Danny and Sam who had been watching with mild amusement. "Do you want to come with us?" Anya asked hopefully.

Sam bit her lip. "Sorry, uniforms are really not my style. Besides we've already got a construction job repair roads."

"Construction? But you're a girl!" Tsugumi said in surprised.

"What is that supposed to mean!? Are you implying I can't do it?" Sam snapped scaring the other girl.

"Calm down there Sam, she didn't mean anything by it." Danny said getting in the way before things could turn into a rant. "I'm sure she's just surprised that you would want such a job. She wasn't doubting that you could do it."

"We've done this kind of job before while volunteering back home." Sam said sharply.

"Wait, why are you two working though? Are you running out of money as well?" Anya asked.

"No we've both set aside the amount of money we will need for the weeks food and basic supplies." Danny said waving the comment off.

"The job is meant to kill time, exercise, and do some good for the community." Sam said with a shrug. "We're pretty good at managing our own affairs."

"What? But how come? You only as old as we are, and we messed up." Meme asked surprised.

"I always tried to be independent of my parents as much as possible. They never approved of the things I like, what I eat, who I hung out with. So learning to manage things for myself was just a natural step in my rebellion." Sam said admitting she was a rebellious teen.

"My parents were not really reliable when it came to things like managing money and planning ahead." Danny said simply. "Don't get me wrong they were good… alright they weren't bad parents like Sam's. But they were just too wrapped up in their work to think about things like dinner or paying the electric bills. So my sister and I took over that job back home."

The girls looked impressed at Danny. "You said they were wrapped up in their work. What did they do?" Anya asked bright eyed.

Danny hesitated and shot a look at Sam. "I… I'd rather not talk about it." He finally said.

The girls' eyes widened. 'Was he from a crime family?' They all thought imagining Danny robbing a bank with a machine gun.

"Just tell them Danny." Sam said rolling her eyes. "Don't be such a pansy."

"But it's embarrassing." Danny whimpered and Sam gave him the look that said, 'you tell them or I will'. Danny sighed in defeat. "My parents are ghost hunters."

This confession was met with mixed reactions. Tsugumi's eyes widened and she started to shake as if afraid. Meme only looked confused as if she could decide if she was remembering what was said correctly. Anya's reaction was… unique. "Wow, the jobs of commoners are amazing."

Sam busted out laughing. "Common is not something people usually call the Fentons." She leaned back in her seat. "They are usually called freaks and weirdoes… but sometime people call them what they really are… heroes." Danny gave a soft smile thinking about those rare moments when people actually showed appreciation for him parents and their work. "Come on Danny, we need to go to work." Sam said grabbing his shirt and dragging him out of his chair to leave the others behind.

* * *

"I didn't think we would run into something like this outside of Amity Park." Danny said as the dump truck pulled away with all the shattered pieces of the road that they were supposed to be repairing. Turning back around he looked at the large scar that had been cut into the middle of the road as if a giant had attacked it with a butcher knife. There were a few smaller round holes around it.

"I guess the fights in Death City get pretty intense." Sam said. They only found out after they got there, that they were the only ones on the job. For some reason people didn't want to do it, not even the usual government workers. The road had been in disrepair for weeks. "I can't believe that they just leave it like this though. I mean, it is in the driveway of the emergency hospital."

Danny shivered at the thought. He looked over and saw the second creepiest hospital he had ever seen right next to the slashes in the ground. The area was covered in dead willows and the hospital was stitched together, with literal stitches. Danny felt like it should be reminding him of something but every time he felt like he was getting close to remembering Sam's shouts pulled him back to reality. "Danny hurry it up, we need to put sand into the holes before we can repave them!"

After another four hours of work they filled up all the holes and where starting to put on the fresh coat of tar when a voice distracted them. "You two sure are fast workers." They turned their heads to the hospital and saw a man leaning over the fence. It didn't take them long to recognize him. His gray stitched together skin and white lab coat would make him easy to pick out of a line up and the screw in his head was even harder to forget or over look. "Thanks for all your hard work. Those holes have been in my driveway for months." Doctor Stein said as he reached up and grabbed the screw on the side of his head and gave it a twist.

"This… this is your hospital!" Danny said in a panic backing away from the gate.

The Mad Doctor began to laugh. "Based on your reaction I would venture a guess and say you have been warned about my impulses." He said gripping the gate a little too tightly and giving a menacing grin. But then the expression disappeared and he just continued a friendly laugh. "Don't worry. I'm not about to dissect you. Your soul's wavelength is very similar to my old partner's. We were assigned to be partners together because her wavelength had a calming effect on me and let me stay in control of my actions. You don't have anything to worry about." He then threw himself over the fence and walked over. "You sure are good at these kinds of repairs." Stein said inspecting their handy work.

"Thanks." Sam said regaining her confidence. "We've done this kind of thing before back home as volunteer work."

Stein nodded. "The Amity Park ghost attacks would cause some significant damage wouldn't they?" It wasn't really a question. Then Stein straightened up. "After a soul's host body is destroyed the soul is left exposed to the elements of the outside world. It is rare but sometimes those elements mutate the soul before it can pass on by providing it with a recurring cycle that allows the soul to act on its surroundings and reproduce a body for it to inhabit. This is the basic theory of how ghosts come into existence. This body is more directly influenced by the soul which is what gives the ghosts their abilities. But without a stable mind and body these souls are easily provoked and are quite often violent. Luckily the only place that will reliably expose a soul to these patterns is the Ghost Zone."

Danny nodded, he had heard something about that from his mom and dad. But Stein wasn't done. "I wonder what would happen if those patterns and signals acted upon a living soul for an extended period of time? Would that soul also mutate, and if so what kind of effect would it have on the body and mind of the individual? Would the more stable physical body and living mind focus the power and stabilize the mutated soul?" Danny and Sam looked shocked at what it seemed Stein was implying. "You have an unusual soul do to your exposure to your parents' lab. I look forward to seeing how you develop as a meister." Stein said pulling out a cigarette and light it with a soul wave. "That's the whole reason I brought you into the academy in the first place. So I could watch you grow."

Stein looked over at the scared children. "Don't worry, no one is going to discriminate against you for being different. I can imagine that you feared some form of government finding out about you and trying to attack you for it, but you don't have to worry. As a student of the DWMA, to attack you would be to declare war against Lord Death himself. No government in the world would be willing to do something like that."

"Um… thanks." Danny said confused as the Mad Doctor took a long puff from his cigarette before turning his back to the kids and walking back towards his hospital. "Well he was… nice." Danny said causing Sam to start laughing before telling him to get back to work.


	5. First day, new friends and enemies?

I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.

* * *

Danny gave a long yawn as he entered the school cafeteria with Sam before their first real day of school. "Did you have to wake me up so early? We're still have thirty minutes until school starts and we weren't even rushing." Danny complained, he was still tired from the manual labor from the night before and was pretty used to sleeping in because of summer vacation.

"Well unlike you I don't feel like being late to class on the first day." Sam said taking some amusement in her partner's drossy state. "You need to learn to wake up earlier."

"You're the devil." Danny grumbled. "Haven't you ever heard about letting the dead sleep?"

Sam laughed at the bad joke. "Maybe I would if you didn't die so half-assed." Looking around the cafeteria they spotted the girls along with Eternal Feather at a nearby table. "Hey guys, you ready for the first day of the term?" Sam said dropping herself at the table with them.

"I guess so." Tsugumi said with a grin, but looked unsure at Danny as he fell to the table his face hitting it hard enough to make a fair sized thud. He didn't seem to care too much about the bruise on his forehead.

"I just want to say that I'm sorry, Tsugumi." Eternal Feather said confusing the group. "As it happens, I saw you getting your money taken from you by the witch of the girls' dorm, but I was too scared to stop her."

"Wait, so the witch of the girls' dorm isn't the housemaster, it's that cute upperclassman girl?" Tsugumi asked skeptically.

Eternal Feather nodded and looked down at the table. "Her name is Kim Diehl. She's in the same year as me. When we first started school, she had long, shiny hair, and the cutest appearance, and was quite the object of attention. But due to her bad behavior, people soon steered clear of her."

Anya learned forward. "What did she do that was so bad?" She asked.

Eternal Feather looked up and a pained expression was on her face. "All of you… go ahead and say my name." She said sadly.

"Um… Enyakora…" Meme started having had forgotten the girl's name, but Tsugumi cut her off.

"Eternal Feather." She said clearly.

"What do you think?" Eternal Feather asked her head in her hands.

"Well… it's a pretty name…" Tsugumi started but Sam was as blunt as ever.

"It's really corny and doesn't suit you at all." Sam said with a shrug.

"Sam… be nice." Danny mumbled but a heavy intake of breath made them realize he was chastising his weapon in his sleep. An act that got him a metal plate shoved into his side, jolting him awake. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"Sam's absolutely right though." Eternal Feather said miserably as she cried into her hands. "And Kim was the one who gave me this name."

"Huh?" Tsugumi said shortly.

"The DWMA is a unique school, so the students and faculty here can choose a stage name." Eternal Feather explained as she whipped the tears out of her eyes and sat up. "In fact, we even have a student who uses 'Soul Eater', of all the ridiculous names there are."

"So, Black Star is just a stage name then?" Sam asked thinking about the shorter meister.

"Actually his name really is Black Star." Eternal Feather said and the group sweat dropped. "But back to my name. When we first started school here she told me that I was to plain and that I needed a stage name. Then before I could object she started telling everyone that my name was Eternal Feather." The girl said miserably. "Then she even filed in the form that made it official, one that can't be changed for two years." She barred her head again but the group could still hear her saying the last bit. "And then she charged me my week's allowance for the name."

"Wow." Was all Danny could say. After all, Eternal Feather was an even worse name then Invisobill.

"What a fiend." Tsugumi nodded.

Eternal Feather looked up and scowled. "Speak of the devil."

Danny looked over in the direction Eternal Feather was looking in to see a girl with pink hair in a jogger's jacket and a pink skirt. Danny would admit to himself that she was pretty cute, but he knew that saying such a thing was taboo in front of Sam. She had her hands in her jacket pockets and carried herself in a 'don't bother me' fashion.

Then a boy ran up behind her. He was an odd looking one, completely bald, except for two long spikes that extended from above his ears and pointed straight back. With the thick glasses, Danny was debating whether he was before or after Point Dexter in the list of nerdiest people he had ever seen.

He stopped Kim and looked like he was trying to talk to her about something, but by her facial expressions it didn't look like she was listening.

"She's talking to that boy about something." Meme said.

"Maybe she still maintains some of her popularity." Anya nodded.

"That's Ox Ford. He's in the same class as me." Eternal Feather said. "He's an elite, with the top grades in our year." The group gave a collective cringe as Kim punched him hard in the stomach causing the boy to fall to his knees as she walked away. "Most of the boys keep clear of her, but apparently, Ox at least continues to be on the attack."

"Huh, what do you think Sam… Sam?" Danny asked looking over to his partner. Sam's head was dipped to make it hard to see her eyes. "Sam you awake?"

"Dest… shal… itch…" Sam was muttering something that was too soft for most to hear. But Danny heard it loud and clear. She was constantly repeating the same phase, 'Destroy the shallow witch'.

Standing up Sam started walking towards where Kim was sitting eating breakfast. Danny's eyes widened. "No, Sam calm down, you don't want to do this." He said reaching out and grabbing her wrist. Sam's other arm came back and hit Danny hard, knocking him aside.

"I must get rid of the embodiment of pink." Sam said with a far way rage in her eyes. One of her hands changed into a metal plate as she continued forward.

"No, Sam." Danny said grabbing her from behind in a bear hug. She was struggling and Danny was starting to panic as the others in the group started to realize that Sam was trying to attack the upperclassman girl.

But right as Danny was worried about what he could do the school bell sounded and Sam snapped out of her trance. "Oh shoot, we need to get to class." Sam said as Danny let go of her. "Come on Danny, I'm not going to be later here because of you." She said grabbing his collar and pulling him along out the door.

The group of girls were left watching them go. "How does he survive her?" Eternal Feather wondered out loud.

"The power of commoners." Anya said with awe.

* * *

Danny was sitting next to Sam in their first 'NOT' class. But his mind was somewhere else. Eternal Feather had said that Kim was a popular girl before she started acting up. Something about that just didn't sit right with him. If she had popularity, then why did she act out? Jazz said that people who acted out were usually trying to gain some form of social recognition of some kind. But Kim's case was the exact opposite. It was like she wanted to drive everyone away. 'Witch of the girls' dorm, what are you hiding?' Danny thought to himself.

"The DWMA is divided broadly into two kinds of courses. You all, like 90 percent of the students at the academy, are attending the noncombatant classes, 'Normally Overcome Target' or 'NOT' for short." Sid was saying from the front of the classroom. Danny could only think that Black Star was right, what the names stood for didn't exactly shed any light on anything. "Some of you in the future will advance to use your abilities in classes for those who fight against evil, known as 'Especially Advantaged Talent' or 'EAT'."

"Those names are stupid." Sam muttered from next to Danny. "But it looks like the shorty was right, if we want to do anything here we are going to have to get into those 'EAT' classes."

"However, despite being called 'NOT', it will be extremely dangerous if you are unable to control your weapon abilities." Sid continued. Sam chocked down a laugh at that. Sure she couldn't always fully transform when she wanted to, but she didn't have any mishaps anymore. Though she couldn't help but to think of when Danny had first got his ghost powers and kept losing his pants. "You may end up injuring people in unexpected ways. As such, being weapons, you will sometimes be feared, avoided, and discriminated against."

"Just like ghosts… or witches." Danny muttered. He was shushed by a nearby student and when back to just thinking.

Just then the door to the class opened and Akane and Clay walked in. "Sorry we're so late." Clap said rubbing the back of his head.

"He was playing around at the arcade again." His partner snitched.

"Again…" Clay mumbled angrily as Sid walked over.

"The arcade, that's outrageous!" Sid said angrily but his face didn't look it. His voice drop so that only the two in front of him should have been able to hear, but Danny's ears still picked it up and he started to write what he heard on the note pad in front of him.

"How did it go?" Sid asked.

"This man was creepy, and acting weird somehow. Normally, we would have just sent him home, but just to be safe, he's in custody." Akane said softly with a serious expression.

Sid gave a small nod. "I see. Good work." He said before raising his voice again. "Sit down, I'll continue the class!"

Danny poked Sam and showed her the notes from the conversation. "So, it looks like Clay and Akane aren't really 'NOT' students." Sam said with a little interest. "I guess they are probably body guards for Princess Anastasia."

"Who?" Danny said looking around the room not recognizing the name.

"Anya is really the princess of a small country. I've seen her picture before in one of my mom's magazines. I guess she didn't want to live as someone's Barbie doll, so she ran way." Sam whispered approvingly. "I wonder if I could get her to go Goth."

"That would be making her your doll wouldn't it?" Danny pointed out.

"Good point." Sam whispered back before they were shushed again.

"Now, not all of you are weapons, so let talk about what it takes to be a meister." Sid said from the front of the class. "Meister as those individual are the ones that are able to use weapons in combat, but more than that they are people who have gained power over their soul wavelength in order to fight." Sid said folding his arms. "If you can't do this yet, don't worry. Almost no one can when they first arrive here. But I believe that there are two meisters in this class that can already call on their soul's power." He said looking at Danny.

"Wait, what?" Danny said realizing he was being singled out.

"You and Akane are the only meisters here that have access to your soul wavelengths." Sid said with a shrug. "For now anyways. Perhaps you would give a demonstration to the rest of the class."

"What… but I…" Danny said looking around to see all eyes on him. He felt a squeeze on his right hand and looked to see Sam nodding at him.

"Don't worry Danny. Remember what Stein said. No one will discriminate against you here for you soul's strength." Sam said winking.

Danny was unsure, but Sam's presence calmed him and he wasn't panicking anymore. "All… all right." Danny said.

"Good, come up here to the front of the class." Sid said to the young boy.

Once Danny was up there he continued. "Now just reach inside of you and feel the nature rhythm of your soul and amplify it until you can pull it out… like this." Sid said. Everyone felt a breeze in the room as Sid's soul expanded. The papers on the nearby table shifted a little. Sam saw an orb around the same size as Sid's body surrounding the teacher. "Some of you might have a higher level of soul persecution, in which case you will be able to see my soul at some level right now." Around three people nodded including Sam. "This is the power of a real meister. The power that you will need, if you want to join the 'EAT' class. Now you try." Sid said looking at Danny.

"Ok…" Danny said and took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Sheets of paper were blown off the nearby desks as Danny's soul rapidly pushed out from his body until it was the same size as Sid's. Sid staggered back in shock. "Did I do it?" Danny asked as he turned to his teacher.

Sid just stared at the boy's eyes for a second. The soft icy blue eyes had turned a venomous and powerful green. Whispers shot though the class. Sid had to shake himself a little before he could speak. "Yes you did. Very well done." He said coughing into his hand. "Now, once you draw out your soul wave and learn to control it you can do a variety of things. A meister can send his soul waves through a weapon in order to strength his attacks or to sharpen the blade. But if you become strong enough you can use the soul waves to perform direct attacks by concentrating your soul waves into your hand, like this." Sid raised his hand and concentrated his soul waves through it. Sparks began to jump from finger to finger and he hit the ground sending out a wave of energy that kicked up dust.

Danny looked down at his own hand. He pushed his energy into it. "Now this is pretty advanced and I wouldn't expect anyone to learn how to do it before they get…" That was as far as Sid got before he noticed what Danny was doing.

Danny had poured his soul waves into his right hand which was completely engulfed in bright green energy. The light jumped around like electric sparks and Danny brought it down to the ground like he had seen Sid do. The energy blasted out and left a large charred mark on the floor. Everyone went slack jawed and the sound of Sam's laughter filled the room. "Did… I do something wrong?" Danny asked completely oblivious to what was going on.

* * *

"You were so cool, Danny." Tsugumi said at the lunch table after their class was over.

"Danny is stronger than he looks." Meme agreed.

Danny looked embarrassed at all the attention he was getting. Sam looked pretty pleased with herself. That is until they started coming.

"Um… excuse me." They looked up to see three girls from another class standing over them. A red head and two blonds. "Hi, um Danny right. I heard you were really cool in class and… I was just wondering... you would partner with me!?" The red head said shouting the last part and bowed.

"No, partner with me!" One of the others said grabbing onto Danny's arm.

"Wow, girls get off the poor guy." An Indian boy said coming up. "He's going to partner with me. Bros before hoes, am I right?"

The unpartnered weapons swarmed them and Danny was quickly overwhelmed. "Ha, knock it off! He already has a partner!" Sam shouted at the people who were trying to take Danny away from her.

"Yeah right, why don't you get lost little farm girl." One of the blonds laughed at Sam.

Danny was getting freaked out and Sam was about to bust some heads when a loud blast shot though a nearby column reducing it to dust. The people all looked up to see Black Star standing there with Tsubaki and the pair from orientation, Maka and Soul. Black Star had used a soul wave to demolish a stone pillar to get their attention.

"That's Maka Albarn, the scythe meister of the 'EAT' class and her partner Soul Eater." One of the weapons murmured.

"And that's Black Star, the loss cannon of the DWMA and the magic dark arm, Tsubaki." Another whispered.

Black Star looked over them and murder was in his eyes. He suddenly didn't seem so little. "He already has a partner, so scram." He spat. The weapons scattered but all stayed in the room, watching from a safe distance. As soon as they were gone Black Star was all smiles again. "Looks like you're getting some attention huh Danny. Keep this up and you might even become as big as star as me!" He laughed taking a seat at the table. Tsubaki also joined along with Maka and Soul, to the great pleasure of Tsugumi. The other however looked like they were going to have a heart attack from the experience.

"What was that about?" Danny said staring to regain a scene of reality.

"Oh that. After you made a big entrance on the scene like you have, you've gotten a bit of a name for yourself already." Black Star said with a shrug.

"So that's why they want to partner up with Danny?" Sam said angrily.

"The true is that he has used a lot of 'EAT' class level skills already." Maka said smiling. "I'm Maka by the way. I saw you all at your orientation." She introduced herself.

"This place is just like any other school. Some people are just losers and slackers that want someone else to do all the work for them. Not wanting to try very hard and winning from just being on the band wagon, so uncool." Soul said as if such people were beneath him.

"They probably think that just because Danny has some raw power means that he would be their free ticket into the 'EAT' classes and then on to becoming a Deathscythe." Black Star sounding a bit bored. "What a bunch of parasites. A real man wouldn't try something like that."

"But Danny already has a partner." Sam said again.

"You can say that all you want. But you don't officially become partner's until the end of the first trimester." Maka said with a shrug. "And even then partners can change. Like if Tsubaki and I got tired of these two idiots we could partner up and leave them." Maka said point to Black Star and Soul.

"Wait what." Black Star said in a panic but then tried to play it cool. "I mean, these no way that Tsubaki would leave someone as big as me… ha ha ha…"

"Don't even joke like that." Soul said looking at his meister. "But she's right. I still have to fight off some weakling or other that thinks they can get between me and my meister. For you it's even worse because you aren't official partners yet."

"That's insane." Danny said shaking his head.

"They should just give up." Tsubaki agree. "No one would turn their back on their partners."

"How about we get off this depressing subject." Maka said smoothly. "How's your first day going?" Talk continued throughout lunch and the presence of the 'EAT' students kept the weapons at bay.

But Sam was secretly wondering. 'I'm I just taking advantage of Danny's power?'

* * *

"Alright class, I know this is your last class of your first week and you're excited about how you're going to spend your first weekend, but let's try to give it our all." Sid said standing in front of the 'NOT' class.

It had been five long days for the students, especially for Sam, who try as she might, had yet to turn back into a till after her first day. She was getting harassed by the other weapons that wanted to take her place as Danny's partner. They were saying that he needed a real weapon instead of a piece of farming equipment, that she was holding him back, and just using him. Sam had tried to ignore them and Danny openly defended her whenever he heard them say it, but she couldn't help wondering if they were right.

"So everyone pick up where you left of yesterday, spilt up into partner, meister with weapon and practice controlling your transformations." Sid said before walking around the group to give pointers.

"Ready when you are, Sam. I'm sure you'll get it this time." Danny said supportively and ignoring the snickers from the class bullies. Sam was the only one in the class that couldn't fully become a weapon if given time to concentrate. Even Tsugumi could become a pretty white halberd if she wasn't pressured. Sam felt guilty as she looked into Danny's smiling face.

"Right." Sam said gritting her teeth and closing her eyes. She started trying to transform her entire body. But her right foot became a metal plate and she slipped and fell to the floor, earning her a few chuckles for some of the other students. Sam gave a squeal of frustration.

"Ignore them Sam, you know they're just idiots." Danny said holding out a hand to his partner. "You can do this, I know you can."

Sam looked up at Danny's icy blue eyes but then had to look away. "Danny… tell me the truth… I'm I holding you back? Am… am I just using you?" Sam murmured.

Danny looked taken aback. Sam waited a few seconds for the reply but was a little upset when Danny started chuckling. "Is that what's been bothering you? Sam, you're nothing like those shallow jerks." Danny said warmly.

"Real, how? How am I any different." Sam snapped.

"Because you were my friend before I became like this." Danny said simply. Sam's frustration with herself seemed to melt away. "Think about it Sam, they only want to be with me because they think I am strong. When we first became friend I wasn't strong. If anything I was the weakest guy in the whole school." Danny said thinking back. "I wasn't strong or smart, I had no friend, and was the son of the most embarrassing people in the city. But you stood up for me. You became my first real friend and I don't think I could have done half the stuff I've done without you." Danny said holding out his hand again. "So don't compare yourself to them. You're anything but shallow."

Sam realized what an idiot she had been. Sighing she reached up and took Danny's hand. She could feel it, his soul, it was cool and strong and as familiar to her as her own. She could feel his faith in her. 'I can do this.' Sam whispered deep inside of herself. 'Imagine it. The sharp blade that lies dormant within my soul. Awaken it, for the sake of what I believe to be right.' Sam thought through the words that Sid had drilled into them. 'I believe… in Danny.'

Danny was surprised when Sam's body glowed bright purple and he was left with a weapon in his hand. He was not at all surprised that she managed to do it but… "Sam… you turned into a spade?" Danny was holding onto the handle of a large shovel, nearly six feet in length making it longer than Danny was tall. His left hand quickly moved to support the weight around the middle of the long black body of the spade. Twisting Sam slightly Danny could see that the slightly rounded steel gray head of the new form was extremely sharp.

"What? But I thought I was a till?" Sam's voice could be heard coming from the spade. "Why is it different this time?"

"I don't know?" Danny said puzzled but then he grinned. "But we might as well see what you can do." Their soul waves merged and Danny swung Sam above his head in a wide ark. The wind it kicked up shot through the gym and startled everyone.

"Oh yeah, this work." Sam voice said confidently. But then the spade began to glow purple again and Danny had to change his grip as Sam changed from a spade back into a till. "Wait, what now?"

"This is… unexpected." Sid said walking up to the pair. "Being able to realize yourself as multiple weapons is… rare to say the least. And you're from a reawaked blood line as well. This explains why you've been having such a hard time taking on your weapon form. Several different forms are fighting for supremacy within your blood."

"How am I supposed to control what I become?" Sam asked as she turned back into her human form.

"I… don't know." Sid said scratching his chin. "Like I said it's rare. You will just have to ask another weapon that can do it."

"Alright, who do we need to ask?" Danny asked politely as Sam groaned.

"The only one at the academy who can would be the magical dark arm, Tsubaki." Sid said with a shrug. "She's one of our 'EAT' class students and the advantage of having multiple different forms makes her one of the most talented weapons we have. I'm sure she would help you if you asked her. Do you want me to get you in contact with her?"

"That's ok, she lives on the same floor as us in the dorms. I'll talk to her myself." Sam said a little surprised that Tsubaki was such a big shot. She seemed so timid, but then again, so did Danny.

Sid nodded. "Alright. Keep practicing the best you can for today."

They continued to practice and now Sam was managing to achieve weapon forms, but she was switching between them uncontrollable. Will trying to become the spade she ended up turning into a hand shovel instead, bringing her number of weapon forms up to three. Danny was stumbling around and falling over time and time again as Sam's weight and shape would shift dramatically at unpredictable moments, sometime in mid swing.

"Alright class, you made some real progress today. Go home and enjoy your weekend, you've earned it." Sid said dismissing the class.

"Alright Danny, we're supposed to go and help build a playground down by the park today." Sam said looking at her partner.

"No rest for the wicked I suppose." Danny muttered as he started to follow her.

"I thought you two were working on repairing some roads?" Tsugumi asked as she walked over to them with Meme, the partner she had been paired with that day.

"We finished that one the second day. We've been doing volunteer work since then." Sam said shrugging.

"In other words, she volunteers and I get dragged along." Danny said rolling his eyes and wincing when he receives an elbow in the gut for his comment.

"Wow volunteer work?" Meme said surprised. "That's something huh, Anya… Anya?" The dazed girl looked around to see the last member of their trio was missing. "Where's Anya?"

"I don't see her around?" Sam said look through the gym. "Maybe she already left?"

"Uh, but she gets lonely so easily." Tsugumi said looking around. "Come on Meme lets go look for her!" She grabbed a hold of her remaining meister and started to run off.

"I will never understand those three." Danny said shaking his head.

"I don't even think they understand themselves." Sam agreed then looked like she was remembering something. "Oh, I forgot. I should probably go and see if I can find Tsubaki and ask for that help before I go help at the park. You go ahead I'll meet you there." Sam said and went running off towards the dorm leaving Danny behind.

* * *

Danny had left the DWMA and was on his way to the park when he ran into a problem. "Where the hell is Death Park?" He asked himself as he looked left and right down the alleys he was going down trying to find anything that looked like a park. Sam had been the one that found the job and the won that looked up the actual address. 'Maybe I should just fly up over the town.' Danny thought but quickly dismissed the idea. If his soul waves grabbed people's attention will he was in his human form, his ghost form would definitely not go unnoticed.

"I guess I'm just going to have to… ask for directions." Danny said with a sigh. "This is around the time a tractor would fall from the sky."

"Someone, help!" A familiar voice's scream filled the air.

"By the ancients!" Danny swore as he began to run for the scream.

Rounding a corner Danny saw Anya down on the ground with her back against a wall. She was clutching her left arm and looking up in terror as a man stood over her. The man was tall and looked like he was around ninety. He had a dark blue sleeveless hoodie with the hood pulled up in such a way that it hid most of his head. But Danny's ghost eyes could still make out some of his face from underneath the dark hood. The man had hard features and a weak expression as he stood there. But the most striking feature was his right eye. There was a strange pink symbol, like an 'm' with a tail added to the end, tattooed into his eye.

He was slightly crouched with his center of mass shifted forward and his right hand held out wide pointing towards the grounded princess. Danny could just see a curved metal claw on the end of the index finger.

The man made a lung for Anya reaching out for her with the claw. Anya clenched her eyes closed. But before the attack could get to her Danny moved in the way and intercepted the attack with his right arm. The finger claw dug through Danny's jacket, skin and muscle, and hit bone. Biting down on the pain, Danny swung out his arm pushing around the claw but further tearing up his arm in the process.

The assault was surprised by Danny's appearance, but still managed to move back out of the reach of Danny's short arms as Danny attempted a weak left hook.

Not feeling the claw digging into her, Anya opened up her eyes to see Danny standing over her. "Danny!" She said in surprise.

"You ok, Anya?" Danny asked not taking his eyes off of the hooded man.

"I'm alright, but be careful, this man isn't normal." Anya's said worriedly before noticing Danny's arm. "You're hurt bad." She said as she started to tremble.

Danny shock his head. "Don't worry, this is just a scratch." He said gritting his teeth as he lifted up the injured right arm and formed a fist in front of him, he dropped into something he hoped was a guard for in close quarters fighting as the hooded man returned to a stance of his own. The man bent his knees and lifted his left arm across his chest and put the clawed right finger over it as if he was using it to help him aim.

'Unless that guy managed to tattoo his eye I'm going to guess that he's being controlled. His face is glazed over, and his breathing is to steady for someone in combat. Those aren't normal signs of an overshadowed victim. He must be getting remote controlled, harder to control the facial muscles that way.' Danny observed as he prepared for the fight.

'This would be so easy if I could openly use my ghost powers to just blast him.' Danny thought grudgingly. 'But I'm not sure about letting the academy know I'm a half ghost is a good idea. Besides, I don't want to kill the guy, especially if he is just a victim in all this.' But Danny really didn't have many options. He wasn't the most experienced meister at close range combat and his limbs were short and slow. If the man was able to beat Anya, Danny was in trouble.

"Another DWMA student." The man said in a rather dreary voice. "Tell me… did you sleep well last night?"

"Not really, my roommate has the air-conditioner turned off so the cold air doesn't kill her plants." Danny said with a slight shrug. 'I have no choice. I'm going to have to take another hit.' Danny thought quickly. 'After that I can try to grab that arm of his. If I enhance my grip, then I should be able to stop him from using that claw again after that.'

No sooner had Danny made up his mind did the man attacked. The man ran straight for Danny, dipping the left side of his body as her raised his right arm up above him like a snake preparing to strike. As soon as the clawed hand whipped towards him Danny positioned his right arm in the way again absorbing the attack. Then before the man could pull his hand back Danny shot his left hand up and grabbed the clawed hand. Pulling it out of his right arm he tried to throw a punch with his still heavily damaged right arm at the face of the attacker.

But Danny's punch was to slow. The man's left arm shot forward and hit Danny hard in the stomach and knocked the breath out of him. Danny let go of the man's right hand and the claw dived down and went straight across Danny's left side.

Danny collapsed to the ground, his head hitting the asphalt and splitting his temple open. Danny could hardly see through the pain but then heard Anya scream again. "Anya." He murmured and started to try to push himself up. 'Ignore the pain. Anya needs me.' He shouted through the waves of agony inside of his head.

Danny had pushed himself back up onto his knees but then he was kicked hard in the left side over his injury. He rolled over onto his back and pain shot up his arm and he let out his first shrill scream. The man was standing on Danny's injured right arm. Danny could no longer stand it. He was screaming with the pain and thrashing about.

"Get off of him!" Danny heard someone shout but his mind couldn't interpret who it was, it wasn't Anya's voice or Sam's. He couldn't think of anyone else in the world at the moment. Danny wished so badly that Sam was there. Sam would be able to help him. Sam was always able to help him.

The pressure was let up off of Danny's arm as the figure of the man was pushed off of him. After he blinked some of the stars and tears out of his eyes he saw Meme standing over him panting. Tsugumi ran up behind her and after a moment of gasping for air she straightened herself and put up her hands as if preparing for a fight. "Guys…" Danny murmured. "Get… Anya… and get out of here."

"We aren't going to leave you." Meme said seriously for a change. "Don't worry, I'm so scatterbrained, I fear nothing."

The hooded man looked at his two new victims as if weighing which one was the easier target. The answer was obvious; Tsugumi.

The girl backed way in panic as the man charged at her. "Tsugumi, change into a weapon!" Meme shouted.

"What, but I can't do it so suddenly." Tsugumi cried. Her leg turned into a white metal blade and dug into the ground causing her to trip and fall backwards.

"Tsugumi!" Meme shouted and tried to position herself between the man and her partner. But the man merely kicked her aside and continued for Tsugumi.

"No!" Danny shouted lifting up his left hand which came to life with vibrant green light that shot off like a rocket. The man turned to Danny with a look of shock right before the weak ghost ray caught him in the chest and knocked him into a pile of garbage by the side of the alley.

But the ghost rays from Danny's human form were too weak to do serious damage. The hooded man pushed himself up out of the garbage. His hood had been knocked down making it easy for the group to see the man's buzz cut hair and creepy eye.

"How did you do that?" The man asked looking at Danny. Squinting, he then continued. "Your wounds… they are already closing."

The unhooded man started to walk towards Danny, seemingly having forgotten the others. Danny wanted to stand up. He wanted to fight, or run, or do something. But his body was in too much pain.

"Stay back!" Someone shouted. Akane jumped down between Danny and the attacker and hit his hand against the ground. A blast of soul wavelength kicked up dust and pushed both Danny and the attacker away from each other. Standing up to his full height at around six feet tall and with his partner, the six foot long claymore, Clay, swung over his shoulders.

"Akane, Clay?" Tsugumi said in surprise.

"You all stay back!" Clay's voice said.

"Neither they nor we are DWMA agents." Akane said to the unhooded man. "I doubt we will prove much of a challenge to a Traitor."

The man looked annoyed but he backed off chuckling as he went.

"He sure left without too much trouble, huh?" Clay said reclaiming his human from.

"Anya, Danny are you two ok?" Tsugumi asked running up to Anya before casting a look at Danny. Danny thought that she looked like she was going to throw up.

"I'm fine." Danny said assuredly as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"Your wounds really are healing." Clay said in amazement as he watched the deep cuts on Danny's right arm and left side slowly stitch themselves up, not nearly as fast as the light cut to his back he had received on the first day but still unnatural.

Danny looked away feeling like his own body was betraying his secrets and trying to will the wounds to stop healing in front of people. But then Akane started talking. "A healing soul wavelength must be very handy. Being able to keep going after most would be left in a hospital. You are almost healed already."

Danny realized that they thought that his wounds were healing because of his soul wave. Which in reality, they were. "Yah, I'll be fine." Danny said getting up. He reached up with his left hand and pushed the blood out of his eyes. "They aren't as bad as they look. The pain is already gone." He lied. "The only thing that really hurts is my injured pride."

"I would still suggest going to the school nurse." Clay said looking skeptically at Danny.

"No!" Danny shouted a look of fear crossing his face startling the group. "Sorry. Bad things happen whenever I go to hospitals… or need to ask for directions." Danny said remember that he was supposed to be at the park. "Speaking of which… I don't suppose you know how to get to Death Park from here do you?"

"You were trying to get to Death Park? but it's just down the road from the academy." Clay said confused. "If you left the double doors from the cafeteria and turned right you would just have to walk three blocks."

Danny's eyes widened. "Oh man. Sam's going to be pissed." Then he looked down at his blooded shirt and jacket, some of the blood had even run down onto his pants. "Scratch that. She is going to be really pissed." Danny started to jog away from the others ignoring his body's screams of protest. He didn't want them to look at him. Not the way he was now.

He was just out of sight of the others when he finally stopped. He leaned over to the wall and started to wheeze from the throbbing agony that filled his every muscle. "I can't believe… I lost to… some possessed street punk." He cried a bit.

Danny's eyes shot up when he heard something hit the ground nearby. To his relief, it wasn't the hooded attacker, or Tsugumi and her partners. But to his surprise, it was Kim, the witch of the girls' dorm. She had dropped a bag full of groceries down beside her and was staring wide eyed at Danny.

"What happened to you?" She asked a note of concern in her voice as she moved quickly forward.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." Danny said but his body was tired from the regenerative process. It would have been so much easier on him if he could just 'go ghost'. His legs bucked and he slide to the ground.

"Yeah right your fine." Kim said moving over to him and looking at the wound that covered his left side. "This is serious. You could die of blood lose." Danny chuckled at the thought. He couldn't die of blood loss. It wasn't even possible for him. His soul would provide the energy that his body needed to continue to function and then it would replace the blood he lost. "You're already delusional." The pink haired girl said biting her lip and putting a hand to Danny's forehead. "And your freezing."

"No I'm not." Danny said trying to wave the girl off. "I'm just tired." He said and his eyes flutter a bit. 'Why is she so nice. I thought she was supposed to be cold.' Danny wondered thinking back to what he had heard about the girl. 'She always just avoids people.'

Suddenly Danny felt warmth going though his body. His eyes shot open and he looked down to see Kim's hands over his chest. Her hands were glowing and she had a look of concentration on her face. Realization came slowly to Danny. "You really are a witch." He whispered.

Kim's head shot up and she looked into Danny's eyes. She had really pretty blue eyes. Not like Danny's sharp ice blue, more of a calm ocean blue. But those eyes read terror. "You… I thought you passed out." She said in panic.

She jumped up and ran leaving a dazed Danny sitting there watching. "She left her groceries." Danny finally muttered. He got back up. The pain was gone from his chest. Looking down he saw that the wound on his chest was fully closed and that there wasn't even a scar. "She healed me."

In that moment three things about Kim registered with Danny; she really was kind, she was afraid of people finding out she was really a witch, and she was all alone. "I'll have to say I'm sorry to Sam later." Danny said grabbing the groceries and running towards the girls' dorm.

* * *

It was pretty easy for Danny to find Kim's room at the girls' dorm. He had already visited the place once with Sam to see Tsugumi and her partners. Kim's room was right next to theirs. Most people were standing clear of it, though whether that was because of her or because Danny was still covered in his own blood, Danny didn't know.

Standing at the threshold of the room Danny gave a sigh before reaching up and knocking. After a few seconds he could hear someone moved quietly to the door the lock click and the door budge open ever so slightly revealing one of Kim's blue eyes. "Oh… it's you." She grumbled from the other side of the door. "What do you want?"

Danny swallowed and held out the groceries. "You… forgot these." He said looking at his feet. "And… I wanted to say that I won't tell anyone what I saw." Kim looked surprised and the door opened a bit more as she accepted the groceries. "But… could I talk to you about it… in private I mean?" Danny asked looking around.

Kim's glare deepened. "You want my time you'll have to pay me for it."

"Fine." Danny said without hesitation surprising Kim a little more. She stepped back and let him in to her room. After he entered she closed the door behind her and locked it. After a moment of silence Danny spoke again. "I'm guessing you haven't had anyone to talk to about the… witch stuff since you came here. Since I already know… I'd be willing to listen."

Kim didn't seem to know what to make of Danny, but she had been holding all of her true feelings back for so long that it all just started to break through at the opportunity. "I hate the other witches." Kim mumbled. "Everyone thinks that witches are automatically evil, for the most part, their right." Kim sat down on her bad and looked at the floor. "It's called the 'sway of magic'. Anyone who is born with an affinity for magic feels it once they first hit puberty. Then the nature of their magic starts changing their personalities. It's the reason witches crave destruction."

"Some can fight it, but not forever. A young witch is too inexperienced to hold it at bay for long and a witch that has already fallen to it can't get out, or doesn't want to." Kim said miserably.

"But you're different." Danny said calmly.

Kim glared at him again but the glare didn't stick. "My… my magic isn't the same as the others. Most have destruction or control based magic, so their personalities are twisted by that. My magic is regenerative." Kim said and her hands started to give off the same glow as before. "Because of that… I'm not affected by the 'sway of magic' in the same way as the others."

Kim clenched her hands and the light disappeared. "But the other witches in my covenant were doing such terrible things. I couldn't stand it anymore. So I ran away and joined the DWMA thinking that I could stop things somehow. But once I got here… it didn't make a difference. I am still a witch and to a certain extent bound by their laws." Kim said tears coming to her eyes. "I can't ignore the summons of the grand-witch and if they found out that I was in the DWMA… they would probably execute me." A knot formed in the back of Danny's throat. "And the DWMA would probably do the same if they found out that I was a witch." Kim buried her face in her hands.

"I understand." Danny said sadly.

Kim looked up, her teary face full of anger. "'You understand', you don't understand anything!" She shouted. "How could you possible understand what I'm going through?"

Danny took a breath and prepared himself to do what he had already planned to do from the beginning. "Kim… I already know your secret. So I'm going to show you mine." Danny said and the witch girl stopped. 'I'll have to keep it short. I don't want my waves to attract any attention.'

Kim's eyes widened as a white ring appeared around Danny's waste and his soul exploded, expanding past the boarders of her room. Danny disappear and in his place was a boy around the same size and shape as Danny, but this boy had snow white hair and vivid green eyes. His entire body glowed with the strength of his soul and his clothes had been changed into a black and white jumpsuit.

"Dan… Danny? You're a ghost?" Kim said in surprise.

"This is my secret… I'm a half ghost." Danny said and the ring appeared again turning him back to normal. "That's why I can understand. Most people think that ghosts are evil by default. And there obsessions have a way of driving them to become evil, just like the magic with witches. The thing that makes me different is my half human status. But other humans have always tried to hunt me whenever I went out in ghost form, even my own parents." Danny said looking over at Kim. "Most of the other ghosts think I am some kind of abomination that should be destroyed, or just hunted for sport. But… it's not like I wanted to become like this…" Kim was unable to speak. She had had the same thoughts before. "The main difference I see, is that I wasn't all alone. I had Sam, and my older sister Jazz, and my best friend Tucker. So… if you need someone to talk to… you know." Danny said rubbing the back of his neck. "You don't have to be alone."

After a moment of silence Danny got up. "I guess you still want to be alone right now huh." Danny said and headed for the door.

"Wait." Kim said and Danny stopped looking back at her. "I… thanks." She said looking away. "But I'm still going to bill you for my time."

Danny couldn't help but the laugh a bit. "Fine just put it on my tab."

Right outside the girls' dorm, the hooded attacker stood after following Danny there. He witness the large soul suddenly erupt from the building before disappearing as quickly as it came. He smiled. "Well well… the child will make a perfect weapon against the DWMA." The man said his voice a little feminine. "Watch out Death, your days of tyranny are numbered."


	6. I Want to be Strong, a god's apprentice?

I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.

* * *

The morning after the incident with the 'Traitor', Danny and Sam were sitting at the cafeteria table again with Tsugumi, Meme and Anya before school started. Tsugumi seemed somewhat down. "What's the matter, Tsugumi?" Meme asked tilting her head slightly.

"Oh, I was just wondering. Why did you guys come to the DWMA?" Tsugumi said shifting uncomfortably. "I mean… weapons like Sam and me don't really have much of a choice, but why did you meisters come?"

Meme looked up and frowned. "Um… I forgot." She said with a goofy grin.

"What? How could you forget something so important?" Tsugumi asked as if shocked, though no one else was that surprised. Her attention turned towards Anya.

"What? I don't see why I should have to share such information." Anya said stubbornly. Tsugumi's head dipped a little but then turned to Danny.

"I only became a meister so that I could stay with Sam." He said shrugging. "Never really thought about what I would do here."

All the girls except Sam looked at them wide eyed. "Romanic." Tsugumi said putting her hands in front of her chest.

"What, no, it's not like that!" Danny and Sam shouted together. The others began to giggle at the synergized response.

"You all are lively as ever." Kim said coming over to their table with her lunch and sitting down across from Danny. Tsugumi, Meme, and Anya's eyes widened in shock that the 'girls' dorm witch' was sitting down with them. "What are you all talking about?"

"Tsugumi was just wondering what makes meisters come to the DWMA. My answer, I have no clue." Danny said lean back and smiling at Kim.

"Um… why did you come to the DWMA, Miss Kim?" Tsugumi asked politely.

Kim looked at her as if she was stupid. "Well… the money of course." She said with a shrug. Danny had a feeling that wasn't the real truth, but best not to get into the topic of her past's effect on her decisions. "Graduates from the DWMA can get some of the highest paying government jobs in the world."

"Wow, do you think you could have worded that better." Sam said frowning. "What do you even plan on using the money for anyways?"

"I'm going to buy happiness of course." Kim said as if joking.

"You do realize that you can't buy happiness right?" Tsugumi said a little worried.

"You can't ask nicely for it either." Kim said with toothy grin.

"Well no thanks." Sam said with disgust. "My parents have plenty of money but they're miserable. I'd rather live a more humble life."

Danny burst into chuckles. "Sam, you were miserable when you're around your parents. That's different than them being miserable." The bell started to ring. "Well the next class is freshmen meister's only." Danny said getting up. "I'll give you the boring details if I can stay wake through it."

"Basic training? Yah good luck staying awake through that." Kim said and waved goodbye to him as he left with Meme and Anya. Tsugumi also got up to go and wondered around leaving just Sam and Kim. "So… did Danny tell you about me?" She asked.

"No, he only said he told you his secret. But given that information I can make an educated guess." Sam said with a shrug. "You don't have to worry about me telling anyone about it though. If Danny trusts you then I'm willing to give you a chance. This just means you aren't as pink as I originally thought."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kim said.

* * *

After a few classes Sam returned to the cafeteria for lunch and found Tsugumi sitting at the usual table with Eternal Feather. "Hey you two, what's up?" Sam said dropping down into her seat.

"Tsugumi was just asking about boy problems." Eternal Feather said gesturing to the younger girl who blushed.

"And just like that I am out of here." Sam said a worried look on her face.

"No, please Sam, don't go." Tsugumi begged. Sam sighed and leaned back in her seat. "Well um… hypothetically, what does it mean if a boy says that he wants you to be his but then says it was a joke? Or when you ask another boy about it and he confesses to you, but you don't think he really meant it."

"Did something happen?" Eternal Feather asked in a girly way. Tsugumi started waving her hands in front of her and denying any such thing.

"Alright, so let me get this straight, Akane asked you to 'be his' but then took it back saying it was just a joke, and when you asked Clay if Akane really did like you, Clay confessed loving you in a panic. Is that about right?" Sam asked.

"What… how did you?" Tsugumi said turning bright red.

"Tsugumi, I am practically a master detective, and even if I wasn't, you only talk to like, five guys in this whole city. Danny isn't the romantic type so that strikes him off the list of suspects, and if it was Sid or that boss you had at your part time job I would have to call the police for pedophilia. That just leaves Akane and Clay, and out of the two of them Clay is the scatterbrained one, though even then they're seventeen going on eighteen, a little pushing it." Sam explained.

Eternal Feather was clapping for Sam's deduction with opened mouthed astonishment. "So, what does it mean then?" Tsugumi asked embarrassed.

"Beats me." Sam said with a shrug. "It could be they were just trying to tease you. You do always make that silly face whenever you are flustered." Tsugumi couldn't help but to get flustered and prove Sam's point.

"No that's not it at all." Eternal Feather said angrily. "You might be good at deduction, but you don't understand matters of the heart at all."

"Clearly, the only boy I ever dated was a complete fake." Sam said leaning back.

Eternal Feather shook her head and looked at Tsugumi. "Listen, it's only natural for a boy who is in love with a girl to think she's cute, right? I mean, to them, it's the same thing as courtship behavior. If you turn it around, they just aren't quite as charming as we girls are when we talk theoretically about boys and love." Eternal Feather said her hands folded in front of her as if she was some kind of guru.

"That made absolutely no sense to me." Sam said scratching her chin.

Two boys walked towards Eternal Feather. "Eternal Feather, I'm sorry, but can I see your notes from today?" One of the boys asked.

"Sure thing." She said and turned to them and pulled the notes out of her bag. "Here."

"Thank you." The boy said taking the notes and turning to his friend. "Eternal Feather doesn't seem like someone of the opposite sex, so she's nice and easily accessible, huh?" He said to his friend.

"That's true." The other boy said as they walked away.

Eternal Feather looked mortified. "Whether or not I'm popular is a different matter, though." She said turning her face away.

"Wait, being treated as an equal is a bad thing?" Sam asked, her feminist mind confused. "What's so wrong about that?" Eternal Feather burst into tears.

"What's got Eternal Feather so upset?" Kim said with a wide grin as she sat down next to the weapon girl, frightening her. "Come on, what were you all talking about?"

"Apparently, boys." Sam said from the seat across from the witch girl.

"And just like that I am out of here." Kim said grabbing her food and getting back up.

"That's exactly what I said." Sam chuckled.

"No, please help Kim, I need advice." Tsugumi said and gave her a puppy dog look. Kim mumbled as she sat back down. "Well um… what if…"

"Akane asked her to 'be his' but then took it back saying it was just a joke, and when she asked Clay if Akane really did like her, Clay confessed to her in a panic. She wants to know if either one really has feeling for her." Sam recapped quickly.

"Sam!" Tsugumi shouted in embarrassment.

"So that's it? Thank goodness. I was afraid she got herself a creepy stalker like Ox and that we would have to call the cops." Kim said scratching the back of her head. "I don't know about Clay, but Akane might have realized it was a bad financial decision to get a girl friend."

"Um… you think?" Tsugumi said her voice doubting.

"Tsugumi, we're all girls, we don't know how guys think." Sam said trying to dismiss Kim's statement.

"Ha guys." This time it was Danny. "Got kicked out of class early since they don't think I need to learn about calling on my soul waves. What's up?"

"We were just talking about boys." Kim said with a sly grin.

"And just like that I am out of here." Danny said trying to run but Sam grabbed his belt and pulled him back as Kim snickered.

After a short explanation of the situation to the horror of Tsugumi, Danny gave his answer. "Beats me, I don't know anything about love. I have only dated two girls in my life, one was possessed and the other was trying to kill me."

"Well then take a wild guess." Sam said elbowing her partner. The three other girls looked hung up on the possessed and trying to kill parts of his defense.

"Fine… I guess Akane might have really meant it, but believed you were over reacting and tried to pull out in order to save your friendship." Danny said with a shrug. "Clay was probably just as unsure as we are whenever you asked him and just spouted nonsense based on your body language in order to try to make you feel better, only to fail epically. Does that sound reasonable?"

"Yeah… kind of." Tsugumi said squirming in her seat. Soon Meme and Anya returned and the conversation changed.

'Considering we are at a school for weapons and meisters, and one of us is a half ghost and another is a witch, this is more ordinary then our time back home in Amity Park.' Sam thought to herself with a grin.

* * *

"So the second 'Traitor' is still at large?" Sid asked Akane and Clay in the Central Intelligent office below the DWMA. He was holding one of many papers that filed the office. The paper contained a detailed report of the first 'Traitor' that they had in their custody.

"Unfortunately yes." Akane said sadly. "We were unwilling to blow our cover as 'NOT' class students and the Princess had to take priority."

Sid nodded. "I understand completely. I have the testimonies of the other students that were involved right here." He pushed a few folders over each labeled with a name; Meme, Anya, Tsugumi, Danny. "I suggest you over look Meme's, the girl didn't remember anything about the attacker by the time we interviewed her. Tsugumi was too scared to get any good details." Akane nodded and opened up the file labeled Anya, but it was not that insightful other than saying that the man had an unusual eye. Something that Akane already new.

But the student was shocked when he opened Danny's folder. "This description is rather detailed; an estimated height and weight range, clothes, the stance, body language, all the words he spoke, and a detailed drawing of the man's face and eye." Clay said impressed. "Was he completely unafraid while he was getting cut up like that?"

"He did run off after the fight like it was nothing." Akane reminded. "Those injures would have been enough to kill most people, but he seemed to hardly mind. A healing wave length... I'm jealous."

"Yeah, the kid Stein brought to the academy." Sid said looking over to the folder. "That level of detail should be expected though from the son of two scientists. He went on to speculate about the attacker. He guessed that the man was not in control of his actions, he ruled out ghosts do to the fact that the facial expressions didn't seem to fit the actions like what would happen in an 'overshadowing'. So he suspects a more puppet like approach. Then he went on to say that the man was probably being controlled through a hypnotized sleep because of what the man said, 'Tell me did you sleep well last night?'." Sid said nodding. "He already knows about as much about this case as we do."

"Think they are going to put him in Central Intelligent." Clay asked.

"That is not the topic at hand. Right know we need to start researching this symbol that appears on the people's eyes and try to find whatever witch is responsible." Sid said before dismissing the two boys.

* * *

"Why me?" Danny mumbled as the fitness exams started on the following day.

"Just get it over with Danny." Sam grumbled, she was less than happy about the ridiculously revealing gym shorts that they were given from the test.

"Easy for you to say." Danny sighed.

Danny walked over to her hundred meter dash with the other boys in his class. The shot went off and they hit the ground running. Akane finished first in 6.32 seconds and wasn't even breathing hard, Danny finished second to last at 16.22 seconds and looked like he was about to die as he gasped for air. The only one that placed behind him was a weapon boy who simply walked.

The rest of the activities didn't go any better for the ghost meister. Out of all the freshmen meisters, he scored dead last in every activity. He wasn't even on par with the average weapon. The bullies and people who had been jealous of his skill with soul waves openly mocked him.

Sam on the other hand was the top student among the freshmen weapons, even better than the undercover agent Clay who was three years older than her. She even managed to keep up with most of the meisters.

After the exam Danny was laying miserably against the wall. 'Man I really suck.' Danny thought. 'The power to go a few rounds against a god like Pariahs, but too weak to even do two lousy pull ups.' Danny had learned long ago to never cheat, ever! So he didn't us any of his power during the test and tried to get by on just his human strength alone. 'And that fight the other day. I lost to a good-for-nothing possessed street thug because I couldn't just blast him. Without Sam guiding my hands… my close quarters combat skills are total shit.'

"I guess I just can't deny it any longer… I'm puny." Danny mumbled to himself.

A scream filled the air. It wasn't a panicked scream, just a scream of frustration. Danny still had to cover his sensitive ears until the noise died down. Looking over he saw Tsugumi. Danny understood, both Meme and Anya were incredible, even for meisters. It must have made Tsugumi feel inferior.

Akane went up to her and must have said something to cheer her up because she ran off when Anya called her. Danny frowned, getting up he ran over to Akane and Clay.

"Hey guys." Danny said getting their attention. "What's being done about the 'Traitor' thing?"

"Wha… what makes you think we know?" Clay asked hesitantly.

"Because you two are undercover agents?" Danny said with a playful grin.

"You… you knew?" Clay said with defeat.

"You're not supposed to admit it, Clay." Akane said looking a little disappointed at his partner who winced realizing his mistake. "We don't have any information. Please don't ask again." Akane said grabbing Clay and pulling his weapon away before he could slip up again.

"Well that was unhelpful." Danny grumbled. "I guess I should have tried to get Clay alone before asking."

"Danny!" Sam shouted from across the field. "Hurry it up! It's your turn to cook tonight! If you don't watch out I'm going to start kicking you out the window like Maka does!"

"Fine!" Danny shouted back.

* * *

Later that evening while Sam was practicing controlling her multiple weapon transformations with Tsubaki, Danny sat alongside with Black Star watching. Danny was sitting on a bench and Black Star was up on a wall above him.

"Hey Black Star." Danny murmured after finally making up his mind.

"What is it?" Black Star asked.

"I really am a wimp." Danny said to Black Star's surprise. "I can't do anything in a normal fight without Sam. Without my soul wave I am just a weak little kid."

"Well we can't all be big stars like me." Black Star said confidently but looked serious at the other meister.

"Black Star… I want to get stronger." Danny said flatly. "Can you show me how?"

Black Star lifted up on hand and started to clean earwax out of his ears. "Sorry, I thought I heard a fly buzzing." Black Star said disinterested.

Danny shot him a look. "I want to get stronger." Danny said in a little louder.

"Oh, how strong do you want to get?" Black Star asked.

Danny looked over at Sam turning into a spade. "Strong enough to protect those close to me." Danny said quietly. "Please… teach me."

"Sorry, but I would only consider teaching a real man. And real men don't whisper." Black Star said shrugging. "If you are serious then say it. Say it for the world to hear." Black Star said glaring down at Danny. "Tell the world what you will accomplish and don't ever settle for anything less."

Danny understood what Black Star wanted. Danny stood up on the bench and took a deep breath. "I want to… no, I promise that I will become Stronger! Strong enough to protect everyone, even if all the gods in the heavens would try to stop me! So teach me, oh Great Black Star!" Danny shouted trying to ignore the humiliation as Sam and Tsubaki giggled.

"Alright, that's more like it!" Black Star said with a grin. "Just remember that you could never hope to be as big a star as me! Now let's get started, first some light stretches followed by a warm up of five sets of one hundred pushups, one hundred situps and thirty squats, then we will go mountain climbing…" Black Star started to list of what the training would include and Danny started to get the feeling he had made a huge mistake.

* * *

He had been jogging for eight miles with twenty pound weights tied to each of his arms when Danny passed by the school swimming pool area. He had been training under Black Star for just under a month and the improvement he was showing was beyond dramatic. Where at first he could hardly climb the stairs in front of the academy without having to take a breather halfway up, he could now hop up them with his legs tied together and his hands tied behind his back, which was part of Black Star's training.

He still had a pretty lean build, but there was definitely some muscle. And with the sparing he had been doing against Black Star, with some gentle hints from Tsubaki, his fighting style had improved as well.

His weapon partner, Sam, had also gained mastery of her multiple weapon forms through her training with Tsubaki. They had started to call her 'the magic farm hand' as a joke, since she was taught by 'the magic dark arm'.

"Ha Phantom!" Danny turned his head to see Kim as well as Tsugumi and her partners cleaning the pool with a weapon from the 'EAT' class, Jacqueline. Danny waved back.

Black Star had heard Sam call her meister Phantom once and decided it was a good stage name. So he went behind Danny's back and filled out a stage name form in order to declare Danny's name to be Phantom Moon at the Academy. So everyone was calling him Phantom, and Sam and Kim couldn't stop laughing about it.

"What up, how are you all doing?" Danny shouted back grinning as he jogged over to the fence. He had to hide a blush as he realized that Kim was in a pink bikini.

"We're just cleaning the pool for a small job. You want to join in? Might help you cool off?" Kim said lifting up a hose. Kim was pretty obsessed with money so she was constantly grabbing easy jobs that she saw as fun. It was apparently a side effect of her witch's magic, but compared to begin compelled to rip off people's toe nails and insight the end of the world, it was really mellow.

"No thanks, I have to run for eleven more miles and then do the last mile on my hands." Danny said groaning a little.

"I don't know how you can survive Black Star." Kim said sympathetically.

"I'm pretty sure if I didn't have a healing wavelength I would just be a pile of bruises." Danny admitted. "He does have his quarks but… it's not so bad."

They talked for a few minutes before Danny started running again. Everyone found it strange that Danny and Sam seemed to be the only people that Kim had opened up to. Most believed that it was because Danny was willing to do a lot of construction jobs and was a pretty skilled laborer even if he wasn't the most impressive fighter or student.

As Danny was running along he couldn't help feeling drawn to the back alley, the place where he had lost his fight against the possessed man. He stood in the exact spot he had been standing when he had moved in the way of that first attack and visualized the events from that day. It felt like years ago even though it had only been one month.

He reached the part where everything had gone downhill for him, after he grabbed onto the wrist of the man, when his last punch was not fast enough. Danny brought up his fist and felt the rush of adrenalin as he imagined throwing that last punch. His arm moved faster, so much faster than it had on that day. "I'm getting stronger." Danny said to himself. Before running on back towards the coed dorm.

Danny didn't notice the man in the hoodie watching him from around a corner. "That's right… get stronger… strong enough to kill Death."

* * *

Danny gave a long yawn as he left the history classroom at the end of the school day. "Danny, you really should learn to stay awake in class." Sam scolded. She was the only person who still called him Danny.

"But it's just so stupid. Why should I care about some witch that died 800 years ago?" Danny said stretching.

"Danny, haven't you heard that those how don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it?" Sam said glaring at her partner.

"But they didn't even say anything important, like how she was defeated or how to counter what she did. I don't care about some skirmishes or trials and decrees about the witch." Danny whined.

"You're hopeless." Sam said miserably.

"I always have been." Danny joked.

"Phantom." Kim said coming up to the looking a little embarrassed. "Can I talk to you… alone?" She asked quietly. Whispers ran though the hall as she grabbed him and pulled him away leaving a shocked Sam starring after them.

"What do you need?" Danny asked Kim after they were alone at the school roof.

"It's about Jacqueline and Tsugumi and her friends. I think… they are trying to get my attention to get me to be partners with Jacqueline. Though they haven't asked me straight out yet." Kim said leaning against a side railing. "I don't know what I'm going to do when they do."

"Do you not like Jacqueline or something?" Danny asked.

"That Straight Laced Chick? I… I don't know, I just…" Kim struggled to find the right words. "I've always avoided having a partner since I don't want anyone to find out that I am a… you know." She said gripping the sleeves of her jacket. "But now they are trying to look into things in order to get my attention."

Danny nodded understandingly. He went over and leaned against the railing with her. "I understand you're worried, but maybe you should give it a chance. I'm friends with Black Star and Tsubaki and they don't know I'm a half ghost and I know nothing about their pasts. Just because you can't let them know about you're past, it doesn't mean that you can't become friend with them."

"Maybe, but I don't like how they are trying to look into my past." Kim said sighing. "How am I supposed to let someone into my soul if I can't be open with them?" Out there on the roof top they stayed and talked for a while and Kim got all her frustrations off her chest. After an hour she had finally unwind. She turned and smiled to Danny. "Thanks for listening, Phantom. I think you're probably the first friend I've ever really had."

The silence that followed was starting to get awkward when the door to the roof shot open and standing there was Ox. "Phantom, how dare you force yourself on Kim!?" Ox shouted angrily.

Danny and Kim flushed bright red. "Wha… what are you saying you idiot. Nothing like…" Kim tried to shout but was cut off.

"Don't not worry my angel, I will dispatch this roughen!" Ox shouted and pointed at Danny. "I challenge you to a duel!"

"Now hold on a minute this is all just a mis…" Danny started trying to talk to Ox but was cut off by a familiar laugh.

"He accepts!" Black Star shouted from behind Ox.

"Wait…" Kim said trying to stop them.

"Then I will get a Professor to oversee the match. I will see you down in front of the grand entrance in ten minutes. Try not to run away." Ox said glaring at Danny through his thick glasses and leaving the shocked Danny and Kim with the laughing Black Star.

"What the heck just happened?" Danny asked.

"Ox… you idiot." Kim mumbled. "How humiliating."

"Come on Phantom, we need to find that crazy weapon of yours so you can fight Ox." Black Star said grabbing onto Danny arm and starting to pull him away.

"But I don't want to fight Ox, this is all just a misunderstanding." Danny said as he was pulled away.

"Listen my apprentice, all fights at this academy are overseen by one of the Professors because they help them get an accurate idea of the student's skill levels." Black Star said. "Ox maybe a nerd, but he is still an 'EAT' class student. When you beat him it will help with you and Sam getting into the 'EAT' classes. Besides, he won't listen to you until after you fight. That's just how things work. Haven't you ever read any comic books before?"

So Danny was dragged against his will and they found Sam with Tsubaki organizing the library. Sam laughed at Danny and Kim's expense as they made their way to the front entrance where Ox and his partner, Harvar, a weapon boy who wore a visor like in the Sci-Fi movies and his black hair up in a spiked ponytail. Professor Sid was with them along with a crowd of students.

"Ox, stop this. You're being stupid." Kim said angrily.

"Do not worry angel, I will finish this quick and then this roughen will not bother you anymore." Ox said not listening. Harvar sighed and transformed into a golden spear that Ox caught before dropping into a stance. They began to synchronize their soul wavelengths and Ox's soul expanded until it filled his chest.

"Wait, they are fighting over her?" "I thought Phantom was dating his weapon partner?" "I didn't know Kim was still popular with the boys." The whispers ran through the gathered students much to Kim's horror as the pink haired witch tried to keep her bad girl persona showing while trying to fight down her blush.

"Come on Danny, let's just knock this guy out fast so we can avoid further embarrassment." Sam said as her body shone with purple light and she transformed into a spade. Danny groaned as he caught the spade. But as his waves mixed with Sam's, he dropped down into a stance and her instincts took over him. Danny's soul pushed out until it was twice the size of his body. The green orb stabilized and a blue D formed in the center of it. The few people who could see souls whispered in amazement as they backed up from the oncoming fight.

'The difference in the boys' souls is clear.' Sid thought as he looked at the two. 'Phantom's soul is much stronger than any other academy student's, but as of last month he lacked the stable body and mind needed to focus the soul waves to their full extent. Not to mention he lacked any martial arts training; he lost to the 'Traitor' who was not at the 'EAT' class level. This fight will help to see how well he has improved under Black Star's training regiment.'

"Alright, began!" Sid shouted.

Ox rushed forward. He was fast, no doubt about that, but he couldn't hold a candle to Black Star's speed. Danny swung Sam wide holding her by the spade's handle and using the long reach to force Ox to stumble out of his charge to avoid getting hit. Using the momentum to bring the large spade into the air over him Danny jumped forward bringing the spade down towards Ox who jumped out of the way.

"Bad move, you left yourself open!" Ox shouted moving in while Danny's weapon was down.

"Sam, hand shovel form." Danny said coolly.

The spade light up and shank into a small hand shovel that Danny held with the point going down like how Black Star held Tsubaki in her dagger-like form. Danny caught the spearhead in the palm in the shovel.

'Such a quick transition. Tsubaki has taught her well.' Sid thought noting the progress of the kids. 'And Phantom was quick to adjust to the change in his partner's center of balance.'

"Can't we talk this out?" Danny asked holding back the attack with relative ease as his soul waves enhance his physical strength.

"Not likely, Royal Thunder!" Ox said. Harvar began to give off large bolts of electricity that ran through Sam and into Danny. Danny tensed and winced slightly from the familiar pain of being shocked, but a scream of pained surprise came from Sam.

"Sam!" Danny shouted immediately jumping back and breaking contact between the two weapons.

'He could still move while having all that electricity flowing though him?' Ox thought in surprise.

'Ox and Harvar's electric based soul waves are capable of hurting a weapon even when it is transformed, even though the damage isn't anything to bad, it can still interrupt soul waves and if Sam passes out from the pain then she will lose her weapon form.' Sid thought.

"Sam, are you ok?" Danny asked worried about his weapon partner.

"I'm fine… just a bit startled." Sam's voice replied. Danny sighed with relief.

"Now you see why I am called the Royal Thunder Commander." Ox boasted as he raised his spear.

Danny glared at the older student. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked shocking the boy. "You barge in out of nowhere, accuse me of doing who knows what, challenge me to a duel even though you out rank me and now you shock my partner. What's your problem?"

"You can't talk your way out of this roughen." Ox said lifting up his weapon partner.

"Danny… lets just crush him." Sam said in annoyance.

"Be careful Sam, we don't want to hurt him." Danny said as Sam transformed into her till form and he switched her to his left hand holding her near the head.

Danny went running straight at Ox who brought up his spear. "I don't think so, Royal Thunder!" Ox shouted. The tip of his spear came to life again with electricity.

Everyone expected Danny to bring up Sam in order to counter, but instead he lifted his free hand. The hand glowed bright green and a small green square shield materialized in front of the hand. The lightning spear hit the shield and bounced off to the side.

Now Ox's arm and spear was across his chest. Danny raised Sam in his left hand and Ox moved the body of the spear to cover his stomach as he anticipated the attack. But instead Sam's pole slid between his fingers, hitting Ox in the knee. Eyes widened when Danny's green soul turned a shade of light blue, almost white. "Phantom Phrost." Danny said and barreled straight past Ox.

For a moment no one understood what had happened. They all thought that Danny had just ran straight past the other meister. But then they noticed what he did. "What is this?" Ox shouted as he tried to break free of the ice that held his right leg to the ground.

"You two aren't the only ones with an elementally attributed soul." Sam said smugly. "This is Danny's specialty." Danny lifted his right hand and a blue aura appeared as a snowball formed in his hand.

'He has an ice attributed soul wave on top of his healing soul wave?' Sid thought in amazement. 'and that shield, even if it was small, I've only seen Death make a shield out of his soul waves like that before and Stein during a soul resonance.'

"You lose, Ox." Danny said as Sam turned into a spade and he rested the head of it on Ox's shoulder by the nerd's neck.

"The winner, Phantom Moon, 'NOT' class group 1D." Sid declared over the cheers of the audience.

"Now will you hear me out?" Danny said lowering Sam who transformed back into her human form. Danny waved one hand and the ice began to fade away.

"Never." Ox said glaring at Danny. "You've won this round Phantom, but I will never give up. Not until Kim accepts my love!" A fist connected hard to the side of his head and he went flying.

"Forget about it you creeper! And Phantom and I are just friends!" Kim shouted at the nerd whose glasses were cracked and was sporting a large swollen cheek.

"Geez, and I tried so hard not to hurt him too." Danny mumbled as Harvar transformed back into a human and checked on his meister.

* * *

"Morning Phantom." Kim said as she sat down next to Danny at the lunch table. Sam was in weapons only class with Tsugumi and none of the others had arrived yet.

"Morning. I hear you're partners with Jacqueline now. Congratulation." Danny said smiling. "I'm glad you got over your fear."

"Thanks." Kim said blushing. "But I didn't really. Before I could talk to her about it a stray dog got hurt in an accident, Jackie saw me healing it."

Danny nodded. "So one more person knows about your secret and wants to be your friend anyways." He said cheerfully.

"Well… I mean what else would you expect from a straight laced chick like her." Kim said point up her nose, but there was a smile on her face. "But maybe… maybe there is a place for me yet."

* * *

**GirlFish said: "Ox seems to be nothing more than a love struck idiot..." as a response to this chapter. I respond, have you watch him in Soul Eater?**


	7. Death Week, teachers meets and legends?

I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.

* * *

Death's Weekend. A ten day break from school in the middle of summer were the students of the famous DWMA get a break from the school that usually runs year round.

During this week Danny Phantom found that he had absolutely nothing to do. All the good jobs around the town were taken by the older students who had known that the free time was coming.

His weapon partner, Sam, had returned home to visit her grandmother for the extended weekend, but the Fenton parents were not home and were unreachable and Danny didn't feel like disturbing his older sister before her college summer school finals.

Not until the eighth day did anything really happen. Danny was just hanging around in his room when his phone began to ring. "Hello, Phantom here." Danny said answering the phone.

"Phantom, it's Kim. You're not doing anything, right? You up for a random field trip?" Kim's voice came smugly from the other side of the line. Jacqueline had also gone home for break, but Kim didn't really have any family to go back to in Witch City and even if she did she wouldn't want to go back their unless she had to.

"I was planning on watching the paint dry but I guess I could record it and just watch it later. What did you have in mind?" Danny said fanning disinterest.

"Just come down to the library, I'll explain when you get here." Kim said and Danny could practically hear the grin. But before Danny could ask any questions the line went dead.

Sighing Danny hung up the phone. "Not like I had anything better to do today." He said grabbing a jacket on his way out. Even though it was the middle of summer the heat didn't bother Danny. Covering up the scars that littered his arms was more important. Even with a healing wavelength, each cut and burn he received left a lasting scar. But as long as his core, heart, and head were all untouched, Danny could survive almost anything.

On the way out of the dorm Danny spotted Soul and Maka returning with theirs heads down as they muttered to themselves. "Wonder whats wrong with them." Danny said then noticed a cat with a witch's hat on following them.

"Please play with me Scythe-boy. I promise I'll be a good kitty." The cat was saying.

"Looks like someone had an exciting break at least." Danny said a bit jealious before continuing towards the school library.

* * *

The school library was huge. Millions upon millions of books written in every language imaginable, and some that weren't even real, lined the shelves that extended up for three hundred feet. The place would have been enough to give the Ghost Writer a nose bleed. But Danny never liked the place that much.

But the circular design of the place made it easy to spot Kim the moment he entered the compound. "You're late." Kim said angrily. "You owe me for the time of mine you wasted."

"You never gave me a time frame." Danny said rolling his eyes. "So are you going to bestow upon me the infinite knowledge of the universe or should I just go grab some lunch?"

Kim couldn't help but giggle a little at the over dramatics. "Fine, we're going to go find this." Kim said pulled out a yellow book baring the tittle 'Excalibur'.

"Ex-cal-e-bar... what's that?" Danny said scratching his head.

"Excalibur is a legendary holy weapon. It's said that only a chosen hero can draw the sword out of it's resting place but that whoever draws it will be granted victory in battle and eternal glory." Kim said. "They will sore through the heavens on wings of light and can cut through sky with a single slash."

"Uh, but we both have weapon partners." Danny said looking to his friend. No matter what Kim said to most people she had confided in Danny that she really did like being Jacqueline's partner, even though she had to deal with her suddenly flaring up like a torch whenever she got emotional because of her lantern nature.

"Don't be stupid Danny, it isn't for us. Don't you think that the DWMA would pay top dollar for a legendary instrument like Excalibur." Kim said with her greedy face on.

"So that's what this is about." Danny sighed rolling his eyes. "Well as long as your selling it to the DWMA and not some random guy in the streets, I guess that's ok. So where do we start looking?"

"There is a large list of students from the past that have reached the sword but were unable to master it." Kim said pulling out the list. Danny recognized some of the names on it. Professor Sid and Doctor Stein were there near the bottom. "So we know were it is. There's a cave called the Cave of Eternity a few hundred miles outside of Death City. But no roads go anywhere near it."

"So that's what you need me for, a free ride." Danny said pretending to be hurt.

"That's not true... I also need someone who can actually pull the sword out. All these meisters in the past have failed, but we have a witch and a ghost on our side. So we stand a much better chance." Kim said grinning. "Not to mention you are already a hero."

"Never pegged you as one for flattery." Danny said rubbing the back of his neck. "Lets get moving then. I can't start flying until we are out of the city that's filled with people who have high level soul perception." So Kim checked out the book and they started for the edge of town.

* * *

"Well hello, how are you, good to see you, is everyone here?" Death asked in his usual bouncy manner in front off all the teachers and other faculty of the DWMA. "It looks like it so lets get started. Since this little vacation of ours marks the end of the summer trimester, we will now take another look at our students." He said and the large gloves materialized out of no where as he clapped them together. "Any suggestions?"

"All together we have seven nominations for students that we believe should be advanced into the 'EAT' classes." Sid said taking the lead. "To start with, the meister, Kim Diehl."

"I see, I see, and your reasoning?" Death asked after a few short nods.

"Before we did not admit her do to her antisocial behaver. As a student, she was unable to find a partner and she had no friends. 'EAT' class meisters are more or less required to have a partner since the entire point is to be collecting souls to make their weapons into Deathscythes. And being able to make friends that can help them with work that proves to be too difficult for one pair to handle is also very important." Sid said looking at some papers. "Though her behaver towards most students hasn't changed she has managed to get both a partner and she has made some close friends. And since her partner is the 'EAT' class lantern weapon, Jacqueline O. Lantern Dupre, we will need to move her up into the 'EAT' class if we don't want Jacqueline to be forced out."

"Ah yes, I understand completely. It is very good that she has found people who believe in her after all this time. I was starting to worry." Death said happily. "We will have her move onto 'EAT' classes immediately. Who's next?"

Mira Nygus was the next one to speak up. "I have my own suggestions for advancement. Estellise Sidos Heurassein, or Estelle, a short sword weapon and the last of the Heurassein blood line, and her partner Repede." The African American woman said. "Though it is true that they are having difficulties fitting in, this is in no way their fault. They possess a good sense of if right and wrong, despite their... situation."

There were sounds of disapproval from several of the others at the table, other than Sid and Stein, but Death put a stop to it. "Now now, this is a school. We do not hold people accountable for things they cannot help. I will allow them into the 'EAT' level classes on a trial basis, perhaps there they will find others who they can relate to." The grumbles slowly died down. Death's word was law in Death City. His word was just. "Now who's next?"

"I would like to nominate Danny Fenton, or Phantom Moon, as well as his partner Samantha Manson, or Sam, the magic farm hand." Doctor Stein said a wide grin spreading across his stitched face.

"Oh?" Death said tilting his head. "Nominating someone who has only been here a couple of months. That is unusual. And you have never nominated a student before, Stein."

"The two of them have been in my sights since before they even came here." Stein said reaching up and tightening his screw. "The boy is from the world famous Fenton Family of ghost hunters, which has never produced a meister, and the girl from a sleeping bloodline of low rank weapons. And yet the boy has a soul as powerful as your average three star meister's and the girl has multiple weapon forms."

"Yes, so I've heard." Death said. "I assume you have your theories on why this is."

"Yes Lord Death. I believe that their souls have been changed by long term exposure to ghosts' soul waves." Stein said with a level of certainty. The table once again exploded with noise.

"You want to use a produce of ghost power! Are you out of your mind!" One of the teachers shouted. "Ghosts' soul waves are unstable and out of control. They are savage and destructive creatures, even worse than the witches." Several others lent their voices in agreement.

"I have been observing them since they got here. Regardless of any powers, they're just kids at heart, even if growing up in a war zone like Amity Park did force them mature rather quickly. There is no reason to believe that whatever has happened to them has had any effect on their minds." Stein said a little annoyed with his close minded co-works. "And why not take advantage of such a powerful specimen that lands right on our door step. You say we shouldn't use something that came from beings as dangerous as ghosts, but unless my knowledge of history is flawed, all the weapons that go to this school are descendants of people that a witch experimented on and that witches' souls are the root of this power. A produce of witch power. For all we know these two will be the beginning of a whole new breed of weapons and meisters that are better prepared for combating our enemies."

The people around the table didn't like it, but there was no flaw to the Mad Doctor's reasoning.

"So they have the power needed to preform missions, but what about their character?" Death asked. "You say that they are just like normal children, but not all children can be trusted to act out the tasks given to them without abusing their power."

Sid coughed to get attention. "Their is no reason for us to doubt the strength of character of Sam, she is always standing up for other and volunteers herself and her partner for several different jobs inside of the community. Both her and her partner were among the group that befriended Kim, and they have shown discretion with not exposing our undercover students even after finding out their identities and why they were there... but..." Sid said coughing a bit more. "Even though Phantom has a none violent nature and tries to get along with the other students, there is one thing about him that worries me."

"Oh!" Death said interested.

"He does not react to pain. From my understanding he was severally cut up in a fight with one of the 'Traitors' to the point were he would have died if it wasn't for his own healing wavelength, but he hardly showed any concern for his own injures. Same goes for his duel with Ox Ford, he was being electrocuted, but he didn't freeze up. He only reacted to it because his partner was in pain. Such behavior is... reckless." Sid said shaking his head. Murmurs filled the table again.

"So... you believe he might lack the necessary fear of pain to keep him from straying down the wrong path?" Death said a little disappointedly.

Sid shock his head. "I am not sure. It's too soon to tell, after all, Black Star shows similar behavior, but it is not recklessness, he just believes that what he does is worth the pain and pushes through it. Such a thing is good for a DWMA student. Phantom shows concern for others wellbeing, but very little for his own. However I can't see Sam willingly taking to eating human souls, even if Phantom tried to force it on her."

"So the only possible danger would be if Phantom's, lets call them 'Ghost Hybrid Soul Waves', enabled him to consume other souls." Stein mussed seeming a little excited about the idea. "Not impossible, there are breads of monster humans that witches have modified to be able to eat souls, such as the Star Clan." Sid and Nygus threw the mad doctor an angry glare at the mention of the Star Clan. But Stein just continued to smile. One of Stein's only regrets was that he had never dissected one of the Star Clan members to examine their 'Demon' soul waves and the last living member was strictly off limits. Not that the doctor approved of the label, 'Demon'. After all, there is nothing inherently evil about them.

"Hmm... Well he won't learn about fear in a 'NOT' class." Death said bouncing around. "We'll put them into 'EAT', just make sure you keep an eye on them."

"Will do." Sid nodded.

"My goodness, I hope you have eight pairs of eyes so you can look after all these students." Death chuckled. "So who else is there?" Death asked.

"Well there is Yuri Lowe and Flynn Scifo..." The meeting continued but Stein didn't really care about the rest of it. He got what he wanted after all.

* * *

"So, this is the cave, huh?" Kim said as they landed in the middle of a small cave opening on the side of a cliff that was flooded with water. The water seemed to be running out of the mountain from an unseen source and down a water fall behind them.

"I guess so." Danny said looking around. "Most of these stalagmites and stalactites have been cut to have flat ends but it looks like it just happened that way. I doubt that most natural caves have something like that."

"Um Phantom, you think you could... put me down?" Kim asked a little dryly.

"What?" Danny said and then realized he was still holding onto Kim bridal style from when they had flown all the way there from Death City. "Oh, sorry." Danny said lowering her to the ground until her feet plopped into the water.

"Thanks." Kim said stretching a bit and walked a few paces inside of the cave. "Flying with you isn't every comfortable you know."

"Well sorry, next time I'll just get you a broom and you can fly here yourself." Danny said rolling his eyes.

Kim looked back at Danny and stuck out her tong. But she got a bit distracted when she looked at him standing underneath the archway of the cave entrance with the light of the afternoon sun in his ghostly white hair. Even if he was a year younger than her, Danny looked so other worldly and noble standing their, like a real hero of legend.

"Kim... you feeling ok?" Danny asked noticing the young witch's silence.

"I'm... I'm fine." Kim said then got a bit angry. "Will you hurry up! I don't feel like spending all day here!" She shouted and trudged of through the water. She didn't really mind the water. She new that most girls would have been squeamish about trudging through all that water, but she never minded a bit of dirt. Their had been a lot of dirt back in the streets of The Witch's Realm.

"Fine I'm coming." Danny said and there was a flashed of light as he entered the cave and once he caught up to Kim he was back to the normal boy from school. "I still feel like it's weird that a super weapon used by a king of England eight hundred years ago would be in a random cave in the middle of America."

"Places of power often move basic on a shift of power in the world." Kim said shrugging. "Why do you think the DWMA is in America? It was also founded eight hundred years ago."

"Huh, never really thought about that?" Danny said scratching his chin. "I always assumed they just built a new city here and bribed Death into living there."

Kim began to giggle. "I can never tell if you're an idiot or a genius." A few more feet into the cave and the light started to become dim. "Couldn't a legendary sword afford some lighting?" Kim grumbled.

Emerald green light filled the path before them. Kim looked over to see Danny's hand glowing the same emerald green. "Handy huh?" Danny said smugly.

"Don't get too full of yourself. Jackie can do that to, you know?" Kim said rolling her eyes.

But she quickly forgot about that when a small winged creature flew right up to them. "A fairy." Kim said in an excited voice. The fairy looked like a small person little less than a foot tall with beautiful insect wings coming out of her back. She had light brown hair with small antennas poking through. The fairy was dressed in a plain gray dress and a gray cap. "She's so cute." Kim said a little more girly than usual.

"Hi!" The fairy said happily with a small wave.

"I've never seen a real fairy before." Danny said with a little wonder. The small creature was giving off a light glow similar to a ghost's aura. Seeing the look on Kim's face Danny chuckled. "Look out, your real self is showing."

Kim flushed as she realized she had been fawning over the fairy's cuteness. "Well... that's ok... It doesn't matter when it's only the two of us." She said causing Danny to get embarrassed as well. "Hey, do you know where we can find Excalibur?"

A disgusted look crossed over the fairy's face and it suddenly found it hard to make eye contact. It then just flew on straight away without saying another word.

"Kim... did you just ask for directions?" Danny said a note of panic in his voice.

"Yeah... why?" Kim said getting over her confusion at the fairy's reaction.

"Bad things always happen when someone asks for directions." Danny said miserably.

"Don't be so superstitious." Kim said before continuing her march forward.

"Says the witch to the ghost." Danny said sarcastically before jogging to catch up still holding up his glowing hand to light the way.

They soon came across a large circular chamber in the middle of the cave. There, in the center of a circular rock raised a foot out of the water was a golden sword. Light came down through a hole far above in the sword that caused it to shine in the afternoon light that hit it directly.

"That's it the holy sword, Excalibur." Kim said jumping up onto the plate. "The air here is charged with magic. It's... breath taking." She looked around in a bit of awe before noticing that something was missing. Or someone. "Phantom, get over here!" She shouted back to her friend.

Danny was back at the entrance to the room looking around from behind a pillar. "No way, bad things always happen whenever I pull out random legendary swords that I've only seen in books before." Danny said a little childishly. "Besides, the karma of the universe still hasn't gotten back at me for you asking for directions. I don't want to double up on something like this."

"Phantom, you're being stupid again. What could possible happen from just pulling this sword out of the ground?" Kim asked putting her hands on her hips.

"I could accidently unless a living incarnation of fear itself that would try to pull the whole world into a state of perpetual terror." Danny said seriously. Kim looked at him with disbelief clear on her face. "It's happened before. Sam still won't let me live it down."

"Stop being such a big baby." Kim said walking straight up to the sword. She kneeled down and looked at it. "I can't detect any magical traps." Kim touching the swords handle and giving it a light tug to check to see if there would be any reaction.

To their utter shock, the sword came out with ease. "Huh... I guess the standards for legendary heroes has gone down a bit." Danny joked.

"Thanks a lot." Kim grunted. "Well, I guess we got what we came here for."

Kim got up and started to wake away when a voice filled the room. "Welcome young heroes!" It said and the golden sword in Kim's hand glowed brightly and Kim let go of it in surprise. "Let me introduce myself. My name is... EXCALIBUR!" Light filled the space and Danny and Kim shielded their eyes to stop from going blind.

But soon the light died and they were left with Excalibur's true form. "That's his true form?" Danny asked a little weirded out.

"How incredibly... lame." Kim said looking at the weapon before them.

* * *

Sorry to anyone that actually wanted this, but no. I am only mentioning that abomination for character development's sake. If you want to write a meeting yourself and have me put it up. Sure, go ahead. Just remember that they don't kill him... yet, and Excalibur grope Kim as some point.

* * *

"And now." Excalibur said jumping up into the air and transforming back into the golden sword. "It will all be yours; victory, and glory!" The sword came down into Kim's hands. She flipped it over and shoved it back into the stone ground. "What... what are you doing?"

"Jeez, I came here thinking that I could sell you to make some quick cash, but I would have to pay someone to take you of my hands." Kim said angrily spitting on the sword's blade. "Total piece of crap." She grumbled before stumping off with Danny at her heels. "What an utter waste of time."

"That is one of the most annoying creatures I have ever seen." Danny nodded in agreement. "How do the fairies put up with him."

"Don't know, don't care. You're buying me dinner for this." Kim said as they marched through the tunnel back to the outside.

"What? But it was your idea to come here in the first place?" Danny pointed out.

"Well you weren't the one that got groped by the freaky little midget with a cane, so you're buying me dinner at Death-bucks Cafe. Deal with it." Kim said sternly.

Danny just sighed as he realized that arguing would be useless. "I should have just stuck to watching paint dry." Danny said dryly.


	8. New Class, Estelle & Black Star's pasts?

I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.

* * *

"So we've been promoted to 'EAT' classes already." Sam said smugly as she walked towards her new class with Danny, Kim, and Jackie. "Guess this is where the challenge starts."

"Great, now we actually have to try." Kim pouted. The look was enough to cause Danny and Jackie to blush at the cuteness of it.

"I guess putting further effort isn't natural for you, huh." Jackie said rolling her eyes and trying to fight down her blush as she opened the door to the classroom.

Looking in Jackie gave a scream and jumped back, the bun on the top of her head catching fire as her heart rate sky rocketed.

"What is it?" Kim asked looking into the room. Laying on the ground by the seat nearest to the entrance was a large dog, the size of Great Dane. It was narrowly built and covered in dark blue fur except for a sky blue fur around the back of its head and a white stomach and mouth. It looked lazily towards the door and Danny could see that the dog had a long scar over its left eye. It wore a collar with the DWMA skull logo as a tag. The dog's red eye seem unnaturally intelligent as he considered the new comers. "It's... so cute." Kim said gushing as she moved forward and started to pet the monster dog. Sam soon joined her and Danny just knelt down to let the dog sniff his hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry, we didn't mean to scare anyone." A kind voice said. Right next to the dog in that closest seat was a girl. She looked like she was around sixteen with light brown hair and eyes. She had a kind expression as she looked at all of them. She was wearing a white and pink dress but even Sam had to admit that the look suited the girl. "We're just new to the class. We didn't want any trouble."

"That's ok, we're new too. Well, except for Jackie back there." Danny said as the dog looked straight up at him instead of sniffing his hand. The look in the dog's eye reminded the ghost boy of Clockwork. His wolfish smile like he was laughing at a joke the world hadn't heard yet.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Sam, the boy is my meister, Danny... I mean Phantom." Sam said still getting used to introducing Danny as Phantom. "Kim is our friend and is also just joining the class."

"Oh, thank goodness, I thought we would be the only ones." The girl said with a sigh of relief. "I'm Estelle, and this is my meister, Repede." The large dog bowed its head in greeting.

"Your meister is a monster dog." Jackie voice came from behind her group. She sounded somewhere between fascinated and horrified. Sam and Kim however were commenting on how cool that was.

"Repede and I have been through a lot together. He'll like my older brother." Estelle said throwing her arms around the dog's neck. Both Estelle and Repede closed their eyes. When they opened them Estelle turned towards the group. "Repede says that it's a pressure to meet all of you."

"You can talk to him?" Kim asked excitedly.

"He can already understand what we're saying. And he can speak to me when we join our soul waves." Estelle said smiling as Sam and Kim gushed. "I wish everyone reacted this well to Repede."

Danny looked around the room. Sure enough they were being stared at by the majority of the other students. "Don't worry, I'm sure they're only staring because we are all the new students." Danny said trying to make the girl feel better. "You mind if we sit with you?" Danny asked. Estelle smiled and nodded and Danny went and sat in that first row. Sam sat between Danny and Estelle and Kim on Danny's other side with Jackie next to her.

One thing was made clear, Danny, Sam and Kim were the only ones who weren't uneasy about the monster dog. Well... that wasn't quite true. "Yahoo!" The familiar shout filled the room. Sam gave a soft groan as she saw the short meister enter the room. "I knew you guys would make it!" Black Star said ignoring the monster dog and going straight for Danny and Sam and putting them both into head locks. "I'm so proud." He said in a teary over dramatic voice.

"Black Star, you stink, get off of me." Sam said angrily trying to shove him off. "Haven't you ever heard of deodorant?"

"That's just the smell of a hard workout." Black Star said grinning. "You should be basking in its greatness." Sam was gagging.

"I'm glad you all got in." Tsubaki said as she entered the room and gave an apologetic glance towards Sam like she always did when Black Star entered a room.

Danny and Sam were hardly reacting to Black Star's antics, they were used to them. But Estelle looked like she was about to have a heart attack. "Estelle, is something wrong?" Sam asked.

Black Star looked over to her and the girl began the shiver violently and her breathing became rapid. "Huh, what's the matter? Is the new girl sick or something?" Black Star asked leaning over staring at her. But Estelle's eyes didn't look back into his, she was looking at the tattoo on Black Star's arm. Repede growled at Black Star confusing the ninja boy.

"The... the star clan..." Estelle murmured so softly that only Danny could hear her.

"Huh?" Black Star said but then looked at the growling monster dog. "Wow, that's so cool!" He said and jumped over the bottom row of tables to kneel down in front of Repede. "A real monster dog." Black Star reached out his hand offering it to the growling dog. Repede presided to bite his hand. Black Star just grinned like an idiot for a second before pulling his hand back and started to give a shout of pain. "What was that for!" He shouted angrily.

Estelle throw herself behind the growling Repede and buried her face in his fur. They could hear the soft sounds of crying.

Clang! Black Star grabbed his head as the pain of being hit by Sam's metal hand caused his to wince. "Look what you've done you idiot!" Sam yelled at the hyperactive ninja.

"But I didn't do anything!" Black Star complained, but Estelle was still shivering.

"What's going on here!?" Sid shouted as he entered the room. Looking over at the seen he gave a sigh as a look of understanding crossed his face. "I guess we should have seen this coming. Sam, could you please escort Estelle to the nurse's office. Black Star, I need to talk to you for a second."

Sam did as she was told and Repede followed as she lead the terrified Estelle out of the room. After they were gone Sid took Black Star and Tsubaki to the corner of the room and started to whisper to them, but Danny could still hear. "Teach I swear, I didn't do anything wrong." Black Star said. "I was just welcoming them to the class when the girl had some kind of panic attack."

"I know Black Star... I know." Sid whispered his voice was full of understand. "I should have seen this coming, but I guess that's just how it is. You see Black Star, that girl is Estellise Sidos Heurassein, the last surviving member of the Heurassein family."

For the first time in Danny's memory the smile fell off of Black Star's face. The look that replaced it was... sad, almost apologetic. "I know you didn't mean any harm, but this is something thats just out of our control. I hate to ask this but... please try to keep your distance from her for now." Sid said putting a reassuring hand on Black Star's shoulder.

"I understand professor." Black Star said but by the time he rejoined the rest of the room he was all smiles again, even if his eyes constantly went to the seat where Estelle had been sitting.

"Alright class, settle down! Today we are going to be reviewing the basic idea behind Soul Resonance! Now can anyone tell me what Soul Resonance is?... Maka!" Sid started the lesson. Maka gave a word for word definition from the book about the harmonizing of two souls in which one soul passed their waves to another who amplified it and sent it back. The process would be repeated until they produced a wave more powerful than both combined.

Danny was only half listening. He was more worried about Black Star and Estelle. When Sam came back he passed her a note about what he had overheard. They knew that Black Star would blow it off if they asked him saying that it was nothing a 'big man like him' couldn't deal with. Tsubaki would never say anything about Black Star behind his back and Estelle was out of the question as well. So at the end of the class they cornered Sid before he left the room.

"Professor Sid, can we ask you something?" Danny asked cutting off the teacher's exit.

"What do you want to know?" Sid asked but he could already guess what they wanted.

"Why did Estelle freak out about Black Star?" Danny asked.

"Oh, that. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, know if you will excuse me..." Sid started and was about to try to move past the kids but Sam cut him off.

"We already have the words 'Star Clan', and the fact that Estelle is the last of her blood line to go on." Sam said shocking the teacher. "You can either tell us your version of the story or we can just do research and you might not like the conclusions we reach by ourselves."

"How do you..." Sid started to asked.

"I could hear you talking to Black Star about it. He looked real upset when you said that Estelle was from the Heurassein family." Danny said simply.

"You could hear us when we were whispering on the other side of a noisy room?" Sid asked incredulous. "I really need to stop underestimating my students." Sam began to tap her foot waiting for him to give. "Fine, I'll tell you. Just promise me one thing. Don't hold any of this against Black Star, he's a good kid." Danny and Sam nodded.

Sid looked around closed and locked the door to the room. "The story goes back to thirteen years ago. There was a group of eight elite assassin that went under the banner of 'The Star Clan'." Sid said returning to the black board as if it was just an ordinary lesson. Danny and Sam returned to they seats. "They were a viscous bunch that would do anything for money and power. Their leader was White Star, Black Star's father by blood." The students were quiet, trying to absorb what was being said.

"In the beginning they only killed for jobs, but as their desire for power grew... they began to eat human souls." Sid said sadly as Danny and Sam both winced. "They slaughtered entire villages and killed thousands in order to collect their souls. Naturally the DWMA sent agents to stop them, but they were skilled and deadly assassins, we lost a lot of good man and woman to them."

"As for how Ms Heurassein fits into all this, the Star Clan eventually came to the conclusion that Weapons' Souls would give them more power than ordinary human souls. They tracked down the Heurassein family, one of the strongest bloodlines numbering in the hundreds, all living together in a small community . And in a tragedy that is referred to as the 'Starless Night', they slaughtered the entire town... and devoured their souls." Sid had to stop and take a breather. "Estelle was found in the forest outside the town ruins two years ago. She was rescued that night by a pack of monster dogs, and as a three year old girl she was raised by Rita, Repede's mother and the leader of the pack."

"How can a group of eight people do so much damage?" Danny asked no one in particular.

"What happened to the Star Clan?" Sam asked.

"They made a mistake. They became too powerful to be able to hide from us anymore." Sid said gridding his teeth. "I was part of the team that was sent to wipe them out. It was probably the roughest fight of my life. That's just the kind of fighters these guys were, even without Weapons, they could still match us in a fight. But eventually we won. That's when I found him... Black Star, the ninth member of the Star Clan."

Sid sighed, his face looked pained to the point that Danny almost wanted to say that he could stop, but he did continue. "Like all members of the Star Clan, Black Star is marked by his soul. That tattoo on his arm is no tattoo. Everyone of the Star Clan blood line had a Star shaped birth mark that makes them easy to identify along with their unique soul wavelengths and fighting styles. Most people in the DWMA were still enraged by the tragedy of the Starless Night. So when we brought Black Star back to Death City with us... they tried to have the two month old child executed as a war criminal."

Sam and Danny were struck dumb. "That... that's insane." Danny said horrified.

"I know... but the motion still passed with a super majority vote among the counsel of three star Meisters and Weapons." Sid said looking as if he was going to throw up. "But being the kind of man I am... I couldn't just stand by. I appealed directly to Lord Death and begged him to overturn the verdict, and Lord Death, in all his mercy, agreed with me. So instead of being put to death, Black Star became a ward at the DWMA. Nygus and I did our best to look after him, did a pretty good job too, considering we were only fourteen at the time." Sid gulped in air before adding. "He was raised at this very school... by the very man that killed his real father."

"Because of this... his childhood was terrible. Many of the students that were here were children of the people who had tried to sentence the boy to death. The bullying was beyond what words can describe and Nygus and I couldn't always be there for him." Sid said but then a small smile crossed his face. "Then, one day when he was only five years old, Black Star stood in front of us and declared that he was going to become a big hero, a star like no one had ever seen before. One that shined so bright that everyone would forget about the Star Clan and people would beg to be his friend. He began to train day and night and put his whole heart into everything he ever did."

"And that is Black Star. The boy who will surpass god, so that he can win the hearts of as many people as god does." Sid said and turned his head away to whip some tears from his eyes without his students noticing.

"That's... wow." Danny said thinking about the younger meister. All this time Danny had assumed that Black Star was older than him. But he was only thirteen. Everything he did was so that people would notice him, and see that he wasn't his father, he was Black Star, and he desired to live.

"So we know what the problem is now... but what do we do to fix it." Sam said sadly looking to the ground.

"Nothing, Estelle will either show that she can overcome her fear and accept Black Star's presence or she will be removed from the 'EAT' class." Sid said a little coldly.

"That... that's not fair. Couldn't she just be transfered into another 'EAT' class so she doesn't have to be around Black Star if she is so scared of him?" Sam asked incredulously.

"'EAT' class students need more than just raw power, they need strength of character. They had to be driven, brave, and kind and possess a strong sense of right and wrong. Anyone who lacks any of these qualities has no place here." Sid said sternly.

"She can't help being afraid of Black Star. Would you expect someone who is afraid of heights to be able to stand at the edge of a building?" Sam argued.

"Yes... bravery is not the absents of fear, but the ability to deal with it to reach your goals. Only the reckless can ever exist without fear." Sid said walking to the door and unlocking it. "Remember that... it will be on your next test." As he walked out the door he paused. "You should have more faith in her. Lord Death put her in this class for a reason." He said before he left.

* * *

Estelle was just a short distance from the school in a little clearing in Death Park that she had always gone to in order to get way from all the other students. "I didn't think that one would be here Repede." She said softly burying her face in her brother's fur. "I thought that they were all gone. That the DWMA got rid of them." Her voice was reaching a sob. "What should I do?"

"_Do not despair, Estelle._" Repede's smooth voice echoed inside her connection with the monster dog. "_That demon cub cannot touch you here, Death would not permit it. And I will always be here to protect you, little sister. I won't let anything hurt you._"

"Thank you... big brother." Estelle whispered into him as she started to calm down. She let herself have a moments peace. But she was not permitted that much. Repede's head shot up and he began to growl. "What's wrong, Repede?"

"_We're surrounded._" The monster hound told her as he raised the hair on the back of his neck.

"Looks like the monster has noticed us." A snide voice said from behind the tree line. The voice was followed by several laughing voices. Out of the trees came several dozen academy students, thirty in all if you counted the weapons. And at the lead of the group was the class president from Estelle's 'NOT' class, Barbos. The large brut of a man was dressed in his red trench coat with his partner, the bronze club Ragou, at his side. "I hear you managed to snake your way into the 'EAT' classes. Congratulations." Barbos said his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"What do you want, Barbos?" Estelle spat though she could already guess. They were going to attack her, but she wasn't afraid of these people.

"Do I really need to spell it out for you?" Barbos asked lifting up Ragou and pointing it at Estelle and Repede. "I don't know what the teachers were thinking, but monsters and monster lovers don't belong at are school, let along in our advanced classes. And being the good Samaritans that we are, we're going to get rid of you. After all, it is the duty of DWMA students to kill monsters and people who reject the path of man."

"_Estelle, weapon form._" Repede voice entered Estelle's mind. Estelle nodded and her body shined a bright white color. The light collapsed into an orb the disappear reveling a pearly white one sided short sword around three feet long with a slight curve. The blade was adorn with several golden runes that glowed in the shade of the trees.

Repede caught the handle in his teeth and growled, challenging any who dared to approach. As their soul waves united, weapon with meister, Repede's sky blue soul expanded surrounding his chest and kicking up the scattered leafs about him.

Repede's eyes darted about looking for a gap to escape but there were just to many attackers. The first of them to charge was a balky kid with a large spear. Repede batted the weapon to the side and slid between the man's legs knocking him to the ground. Next was a tall girl with a hammer. Repede barely managed to dodge the first swing and staggered from the group.

He knew he couldn't attack them back. Any injury that they sustained would be used as proof that the monster dog desired to be put to death. Repede had not risked so must to let it end that way. Using the opening made by the hammer girl's wide swing, Repede made a mad dash to get out of the circle. He managed to get to the edge of the wooded area when a sharp pain in his hind leg caused him to trip. "Repede!" Estelle shouted as he slid across the ground. An arrow fired from one of the students had grazed his leg.

"You thought you could get away?" Barbos said standing over the monster dog. "Die like the dog you are!" He raised his club above his head. He moved to drive it down on the defenseless monster, but something was pulling him back.

"What do you think your doing?" A cold voice said from behind Barbos. He turned his head to see Black Star standing there, Tsubaki was in her chain scythe mode and was wrapped around Barbos's weapon. "If your going to have a fight, wouldn't you prefer a big opponent, like me."

"Fights between students are forbidden off campus, and must be done with a teacher present." Tsubaki said angrily.

"Fight? This isn't a fight." Barbos said mockingly as some more of the students surrounded the new comer. What did he have to worry about, it was still fifteen on two. "We are just doing our job as DWMA students. We're hunting a monster."

"You're job?" Black Star repeated through gritted teeth. "Sound to me like your talking about murder. That's not very big of you." Some of the surrounding student throw unsure glances around.

"What we do is justice, it is the will of Lord Death." Barbos said straightening up.

"That's wrong!" Tsubaki shouted.

"Tsubaki..." Black Star said unnaturally quiet. "Lets go."

Tsubaki was stunned but then she understood. "Right."

Black Star pulled Tsubaki back off of the club but then through the other sickle straight past Barbos's ear causing the thug to stumble back. The sickle hit a tree bouncing off, but the chain followed the path of the sickle. It hit four more trees before Black Star caught it again. The trail of the chains created a star around the entire clearing. "Soul Resonance!" Black Star and Tsubaki shouted together. The chains came to life and all pulled in shrinking the star and pulling everyone in the clearing in with it, except for Repede who had been to close to the ground. "TRAP STAR!"

"Wha... what the heck?" Barbos shouted. He along with all of the students that had tried together by Tsubaki's chains. But Black Star sent a Soul Wave through Tsubaki's chain, shocking the students until they were all unconscious.

"You know what, ever with all of you it wasn't even a fight." Black Star said annoyed. "What a drag." Black Star looked over at Repede, Estelle had transformed back into her human form and had her arms around the dog. She looked at Black Star, her eyes were still filled with terror, and not from being attacked. She was afraid of the boy. Repede still growled defensively. Black Star sighed. "Tsubaki, Can you take all these losers back to the academy yourself?" Black Star asked.

Tsubaki was about the protest, to say that it was a bad idea for him to be alone with Estelle, but Black Star just gave her the same smile he always did. "Sure thing Black Star... just be careful ok." Tsubaki said transforming back into her human form except for the long chain that came from her ponytail that was wrapped around the other students as she pulled them away. 'Don't do anything stupid.' She prayed silently as she walked away.

After Tsubaki was out of sight, Black Star walked over the a tree and broke off a thick branch that was bare of twigs and resembled a club. Estelle shut her eyes tight as he approached her. But she was shocked when he laid the club at her feet and then sat down in front of her with his legs crossed.

"Go ahead. You hate me right? Get it all out of your system." Black Star said and then waited.

'This can't be real.' Estelle thought looking at the club. But then memories came back. The small things she could remember of her real family; her mother and father, her cousin. And then... the face of the man that murdered them. The same face as the boy who sat in front of her now.

She reached out... and her fingers wrapped round the club.

* * *

"Professor Sid." Tsubaki said as she entered the front office dragging along the unconscious students.

"What is this? What happened?" Sid asked looking at the students.

"These students attacked Estelle and Repede over at Death Park. One of them confessed to intending to kill them." Tsubaki said fingering the boy in question. "Black Star and I interfered though."

Sid sighed. "Great, even more trouble." But then he notice something. "Where is Black Star?"

"He... stayed behind with Estelle." Tsubaki admitted.

Sid groaned. "Go get Nygus, she'll know what to do. I'll deal with these trouble makers." Sid said as the girl released her chains.

* * *

Estelle was starting to pant. She had been beating on Black Star with the wood club for over ten minutes. But Black Star never moved. He just sat down with his legs crossed and took it. "Are you done?" He asked looking up. Blood was dripping down from a large cut on his head he was twitching slightly from the pain but he was not going to fight back.

"You think that this will make thing alright?" Estelle asked through her tears. "I lost my family because of your clan. I lost everything. Do you know what that is like!?"

"Not really, I never knew my parents." Black Star said his voice a little unsteady as he was fighting not to black out. Estelle froze. "The DWMA killed my mom and dad when I was only a few months old. But I guess they deserved it." Black Star spat a little blood to the side and whipped a bit more from his eyes before looking back up at Estelle. "But they're gone now, so everyone always blames me for the things that they did."

Estelle felt slightly ashamed but Black Star wasn't done. "I'm not going to let them and what they were hold me back. I am going to become a hero. A hero so great that everyone will stop talking about my parents, because they will be to busy talking about how great I am. I won't ever stop, not until I surpass god. So go ahead and hit me. A big guy like me doesn't care about things like that."

Estelle's gritted her teeth and close her eyes raising the club again. But she felt a tug on her sleeve. It was Repede. "_Estelle... this isn't right. This cub is not the monster that hurt you._" Repede said sadly to his little sister.

Estelle looked back down at Black Star. His eyes were still serious and she could still see the monster that killed her family in his face. But she finally notice... he was young. He was younger than her, far too young to have been a part of what had happened to her family. She remembered back when Repede had gotten the scar across his eye. He had sat willingly in front of a man who had came to get Estelle and was beaten badly. He was trying to show that he was not a threat even though he was a monster.

The club slipped between Estelle's fingers and landed on the ground behind her. She felt to her knees and then she cried. She cried until Nygus came with a first aid kit and patch up Black Star. Nygus yelled at the young ninja. "You always do this Black Star! I swear, I don't know were we went wrong with you."

"Sorry, Mari." Black Star said but he did't look sorry, he had a long grin across his bandaged face. But he gave a shout of pain as Nygus tightened a bandage a little more than she needed to.

"You're not sorry, and that's Professor Nygus to you." She said angrily before looking at Estelle. "Sorry for any trouble he caused you." She said before swinging the small ninja over her shoulder and walked away ignoring his weak protests.

* * *

"Estelle, are you ok?" Sam asked a little worried about the other girl. They were starting their second day of class.

"I'm alright." Estelle said a little weakly. The truth was she was being weighed down by guilt and apprehension. Just the day before she had beaten Black Star with a club for a crime he never committed and when he wouldn't defend himself. How was she supposed to look at him now.

"Yahoo!" Black Star shouted as he entered the room. Sam groaned and looked over to the entrance but then stopped.

"Black Star, what happened to you?" Sam asked a little worried. The blue haired ball of energy had his head bandaged over the right eye and some bandages were on his arms as well.

Estelle felt herself chocking. 'Is he going to tell everyone what I did?' She worried. Such a thing would reinforce what everyone thought about her and Repede. Why didn't she think about that before she had done it?

"What this... I just... tried to mountain climb while upside down." Black Star said trying to think of an excuse. "You should try it Phantom, it was a lot of fun."

"Black Star... why... that makes no sense." Danny said gulping a little. He was a little worried that Black Star would make him do it as part of his training.

"Sense? Why should I make sense? I'm Black Star, I'm going to be bigger than god! Does god make sense?" Black Star shouted clearly proud of himself.

"Black Star, you are a unique kind of special." Kim said rolling her eyes. But the whole group stopped and stared as Estelle and Repede began to laugh. Even though they didn't know what happened, they were all happy to see it. Estelle had gotten over her fear with Black Star.


	9. Death Bazaar, the witch steps forward?

I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.

* * *

"Remember that the school wide academic tests are tomorrow, so I hope you've been studying." Nygus said as she wrapped up her class. Yuri gave a long yawn that earned him a glare from the teacher. But he closed his mouth when he got a elbow from his weapon partner, Flynn.

The two of them transfered into the 'EAT' class three day's after the others. Yuri Lowe was a Meister, seventeen years old from a bad neighborhood with long black hair that ran half way down his back and dark eyes. He was a lone wolf kind of guy and pretty much kept to himself, other than his partner, Flynn Scifo and the monster dog, Repede who he had taken a liking to immediately. Yuri had earned himself a name around the academy for being a rebel and taking things into his own hands. The reason he started the 'EAT' class later than the others was because he had assaulted a teacher after school hours and was suspended.

When asked why he did it, Yuri said. "The creep touched one of the eight year old students." And when they asked why he didn't just report it he responded with. "Pencil pushers don't solve problems. The teachers here are the government. They would just wage their fingers at him and he would be back out the next day. He won't forget that cut on his forehead as quickly."

Flynn on the other hand was the complete opposite of his partner. He was a weapon, a hand ax, also seventeen but from a upper-class family, he had short blond hair, blue eyes, and was very open and out going with everyone, except for Repede who he was slightly afraid of. Flynn had filed a complaint about the teach which had resulted in a slight waging of fingers and nothing being done. He had tried to talk is partner into having faith in the system set down by his fellow man, but Yuri liked his way better.

Widely considered to be the pretty boys of the academy, most of the girls had a crush on at least one of them.

Nygus coughed into her hand to regain attention before continuing to speak. "Alright class, that is all. I well see you tomorrow."

Danny groaned along with Kim as they exited the room. "I hate tests." Kim complained.

"My scores were once bad enough to bring about the end of the world." Danny said as if it was a joke though Sam and Kim knew better. Just like Danny never told Sam that Kim was a witch, Kim never told Jackie that Danny was part ghost. Though unlike Sam, Jackie hasn't guessed the truth.

"You're just over reacting." Jackie said rolling her eyes. "Maybe if you ever studied you'd do better."

"Straight laced chick." Kim mumbled causing Jackie to give her a glare.

"Come on you two. We were going to go and study with Tsugami, Anya, and Meme at DeathBucks, remember?" Sam said before pausing. "Want to come along, Estelle, Tsubaki?"

"I would but..." Tsubaki said looking to her meister.

Black Star was just laughing. "People as big as we are don't need to study to ace tests. Come on Tsubaki, lets go!" Black Star shouted and ran off. Tsubaki dipped her head as if to apologize before running off after her partner.

"Well that's Black Star for you." Sam said as the ninja ran off.

"Ten bucks says that he just doesn't want other people to see him study." Danny said before looking back to Estelle. "What about you? Want to come?"

"I... I don't know." Estelle said throwing a worried glance at Repede.

"Come on, Repede can come too. He has to study also." Kim said grinning. Jackie looked a little uncomfortable, but didn't say anything.

"Well... sure." Estelle said nodding.

* * *

"No! I changed my mind, I don't wanna!" Kim whined from the front door of the cafe as Jackie tried to drag her in. "I don't wanna... I don't wanna!"

"Oh come on, we came all this way to study so just do it!" Jackie scolded her partner.

Sam was pulling Danny along, but the young hero was unable to protest do to the lump on his head. "Sam... you're the devil." Danny said weakly.

"You're not running away from this one." Sam responded.

"Oh Sam." Liz, one of the two 'reforming' criminals that worked at the Deathbucks cafe at the request of the DWMA said with a smile. "Tsugami and her friends are already here. Sit down and well be right with you." Sam was one of the few people that Liz and her little sister Patti actually liked around Death City. Mostly because when they tried to freak her out she pulled an Ecto-gun on them.

"Hi!" Patti said waving in welcome before returning her attention to making a dragon out of hand rags.

But Liz freaked out when Repede stepped through the door. "What is that thing doing here!?" She screamed.

"Oh... I'm sorry. We're here for the study session too." Estelle said from behind the Repede. "Is... is that a problem?"

The master of the cafe looked up at the monster dog and noticed it's tag. "Students of the DWMA are always welcome here." He said flatly before returning to work.

Liz gulped before forcing a smile. "Sor... sorry I shouldn't have freaked, I mean, it's not like he is a witch or a... a ghost." She said with a shudder. Both Danny and Kim's eyes fell slightly at those words. Jackie managed to get Kim loose from the door and drag her over to the table were Tsugami and her friends were studying.

"Hi guys." Sam said as they sat down. She pulled out her books and notes and quickly want to work.

"So, even monsters are more ok than witches and ghosts." Danny said a little half hearted. All the others looked at him in surprise. They didn't have a clue were the topic had come from. But Kim just nodded silently.

"That's just how it is. Like Weapons, monsters are only the descendants of creatures that were experimented on by witches, ghosts, and sorcerers." Kim mumbled. "Some were designed to rampage about but most of those were hunted into extinction by the DWMA. Most witches and sorcerers wanted to use the monsters long term as assistants. These monsters are the more civil and intelligent than any domesticated animal, some even have enough magic of their own to transform into normal looking humans, so there isn't really a reason to be afraid of them. They don't have the 'sway of magic' giving them destructive tendencies, like witches."

"Or the lack of a stable body that causes them to go berserk, like ghosts." Danny added chuckling sadly. "People really are silly to be afraid of Repede. Your average weapon is more dangerous since they have the ability to eat souls." All the weapons at the table looked down in a little shame.

Clang. Danny put his hands on his head to nurse the injure Sam had just given him. "As enlightening as this topic is, philosophy isn't on the exam. So enough with the depressing topics and get to work." Sam said trying to cheer the pair up. But Sam wanted to get off the subject as fast as possible. She had been finding it harder and harder to sleep after finding out the mission of a 'EAT' class weapon. To eat ninety nine keshin egg souls and one witch's soul. Sam was vegan for crying out loud. The idea of eating something's soul was... she shivered.

* * *

Thirty minutes into the study session Tsugami spoke up. "It's no surprise that Miss Jackie's math notes are well organized and easy to follow, is it?" She said happily.

"Easy to follow? Which part?" Kim said a little annoyed.

"Stop your complaining and concentrate. You're going to have to break down and memorize the basics by heart." Jackie scolded her meister.

"Miss Meme can remember everything covered by the test." Anya said as if to say it could easily be done.

"Huh? There's going to be a test on this?" Meme asked in surprise.

"What did you think today's get-together was for?" Tsugami asked chuckling at her forgetful friend.

"Oh, of course!" Meme said giggling.

"Aw, Jackie, you're such a straight laced chick, I'm surprised you're not better at teaching." Kim teased. "What can I say? You just don't have a knack for it. Not to mention your dreadful."

"Then why don't you have Ox teach you?" Jackie said sticking her nose in the air. Kim flinched at the mention of her stalker. "He'd be glad to spoon-feed a selfish tanuki like you." Kim scold since Jackie new that her theme as a witch was a tanuki, a raccoon dog. "And while you're at it, you could stand to learn some discipline."

Kim gave in. "Geez, fine. I'll put up with the straight laced chick." She said looking away embarrassed. Seeing the expression on Tsugami's face, like the girl was holding back a giggle Kim jumped on her and put her in a head lock shouting. "What's with the look!? You're pissing me off!" Estelle broke down into laughter.

Sam sighed. "Why don't you try my notes." She suggested to Kim.

"But isn't Phantom using those?" Kim asked looking at Danny who was quietly reading out of Sam's notebook. He reached out one hand and turned a page.

"Na, he fell asleep a few minutes ago." Sam said pulling the booklet out of his hand. Danny didn't even react. The others stared in shock.

"How can he sleep like that?" Estelle asked in shock. "He's still moving around, and his eyes are wide open."

"He's had a lot of practice?" Sam said shrugging. Repede snickered from the floor before turning a page in his own book using a paw.

"Shouldn't you wake him up?" Meme asked.

"Why bother, I may bug him about studying, but he'll do fine." Sam said handing the notes to Kim. "He's smart enough to get by on just what he heard in class. The only reason he got bad grades at our old school was because he could never make it to class."

"Why not?" Anya asked.

Sam paused as if wondering what to say. "How much do you all know about Amity Park?" She asked.

Most of them just looked around confused but Jackie spoke up. "Amity Park is a small town in the central area of the United States that holds the world record for Ghosts sightings." She said as if repeating it out of a text book. The others shivered, except for Kim and Repede.

"That's right, Amity Park had more than one thousand ghosts attack it over the course of one year." Sam said leaning back in her chair. "I never really understood why, but the DWMA never sent anyone to help, we were on our own. And Danny had the worst of it." She said looking over to her sleeping meister. "Being the son of the worlds leading experts in hunting down and dissecting ghosts, the ghosts targeted him in particular. In order to survive we armed ourselves with is parents equipment and fought back. Between me, him, his sister Jazz, and our friend Tucker, we much have captured at least seven hundred ghosts." Sam had a grin of pride as as the others looked horrified. "Ironically, it was all those ghosts trying to kill him that have made him what he is today. We're the best ghost hunters this world has ever seen."

"Is that why Phantom doesn't like to talk about ghosts?" Estelle asked.

"Can you blame him?" Sam asked. No one responded. "Lets just get back to work. This idiot probably won't wake up for a while anyways."

* * *

"Nooo!" Black Star screamed to the heavens as he looked at the posted grades for the tests. The grades of all the 'EAT' class students were always posted out into the hall ways. Once upon a time a teacher thought that the judgment of their peers would make them work harder. Black Star did not do well. "This can't be right, I was supposed to get first!" Black Star shouted, but the truth was he was dead last. "Alright next time I'll be number one!" Black Star said before running off.

"He says that, but he only scored an eight." Jackie said disapprovingly as they all watched the ninja run off.

"Yeah, Black Star isn't very smart." Soul said chuckling a bit.

"You do realize you only got a twenty, right?" Maka said angrily to her weapon. "You two really should try studying more. Repede did better than you." The monster dog scoffed indignantly. After all, he had gotten a ninety-five, making him the fifth highest in the class; right after Ox, Maka, Tsubaki, and Jackie, with Sam right behind him.

"I'm just glad I passed." Danny said rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "If they didn't score all subjects together I would probably have failed, I'm no good with history." Danny had managed to pull an eighty.

"Same here." Kim mumbled having pulled a seventy-two. But she nearly jumped out of her shoes as Ox popped out of no where.

"You know I could assist you in your studying my angel!..." He shouted just before being punched hard in the stomach.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone!" Kim shouted before running off away from her stalker, Jackie following along.

Sam was laughing as she watch them go. "I am glad I don't have creepy guy like him following me around." Then she looked back to Danny. "But we all managed to pass... well except for Black Star and Soul, but they don't count as people, right Repede." The monster dog gave another snicker. "This calls for a party. How about this Sunday, the day after the Death Bazaar ends?"

There was a round of agreement among the gathered people and it became a date. They all went off to class looking forward to the weekend.

* * *

"I'm telling you, you're buy too much of this stuff." Danny voiced his opinion for the third time that day to a Sam who refused to listen. They were at the Death Bazaar buying food for the party the following day.

"We need to have enough for everyone that wants any." Sam snapped.

"So we need enough for you." Danny mumbled, but he knew Sam could still hear him as she picked up some tofu sausages from a local vender. "Estelle and Repede were raised by dogs, I don't think they want to eat vegan. And Black Star is just a bottomless pit, you might as well just buy rocks, he wouldn't be able to tell the difference. That just leaves you, me, Tsubaki, Kim and Jackie. And you already tried to feed Kim this stuff and she refused."

"I just need to convince them that this is a better solution!" Sam said sharply.

"You never even managed to convince me." Danny mumbled. CLANG! He fell over as Sam smashed him across the side of the head with a hand that had been turned into a spade head.

"Are you insulting my cooking, you jerk!?" Sam shouted before raising the hand again. Danny rose his hands in defense but before Sam could continue her onslaught screams filled the air and people were rushing away from the fountain area screaming bloody murder. The only word that the two DWMA students could understand was the word 'Weapon'.

Danny was on his feet in a moment chasing after Sam who was already over ten feet in front of him fighting her way through the crowd towards the source of the panic. "Sam!" He shouted after her, but he was not finding it easy to keep up in the crowd.

So Sam was the first one on the scene and what she saw she couldn't understand. The one standing in the middle of the Bazaar, at the fountain, was Eternal Feather. The girl's left arm had changed into it's weapon form, a giant switch blade. The weapon girl was attacking everything in reach with a void expression on her face.

"Eternal Feather! What are you doing!?" Anya shout from the stairs near the fountain. Eternal Feather turned to the run away princess. Sam silently cursed as Eternal Feather started running full speed at Anya with her knife arm up.

"Look out!" Sam shouted getting between Anya and Eternal Feather and deflecting the knife arm with her spade hand. Eternal Feather staggered back a few steps but quickly righted herself. "Danny, we have to stop her... Danny?" Sam said finally noticing that her Meister was not there. "Great..." She mumbled as Eternal Feather prepared to attack. "Anya, you're going to have to wield me." Sam said fully turning into her spade form.

Anya was still shocked that her upperclassman friend was attacking her but she still reached out and grabbed hold of Sam's shaft. "Urg... Sam, you're to heavy." She grunted as she tried to lift the spade.

"Oh, that is just great!" Sam snapped as she realized that they didn't have compatible wavelengths.

Eternal Feather rushed forward and Anya staggered back and tripped on the bottom stair step behind her. But before she could be cut up, or even hit the ground she found herself in strong arms as the sound of metal hitting metal rang in the air.

Looking up Anya found that she was in Danny's arms with him holding Sam out in front of them with his left hand. "You ok, Anya?" Danny asked not looking away from Eternal Feather.

"I'm... I'm alright. Thank you, Phantom." Anya said with all the dignity she could muster in such a situation. She was trying her hardest to fight down a blush, but the princess was not known for his self control.

"You're late stupid!" Sam voice came shouting from the spade.

"Sorry, I ran into traffic. But I'm here now." Danny said as he focused his soul waves into Sam and pushed Eternal Feather back with ease. Eternal Feather hit the ground a little ways away from them but soon started to push herself back up.

"Careful Danny, Eternal Feather isn't in control of her actions." Sam warned. Anya was shocked to hear this and so were Tsugumi and Meme who arrived moments after Danny himself.

"I noticed." Danny replied as Eternal Feather turned to them, he could easily see the same pink and blue 'm' like mark that was in the weapon girl's eyes. "But we still need to stop her from causing anymore damage, or hurts herself." Danny put Anya down behind him and held Sam out to the side. "Till form." He mumbled and Sam complied turning into the till. Danny held her near the head and was in a low stance.

Eternal Feather started to run at them and Danny ran forward too. Eternal Feather did as wide swing with her knife like right arm. Danny pointed the head of the till down and Sam shot out between his fingers. As her head hit the ground it pushed Danny up and over Eternal Feather as she hit Sam pole to no effect.

Danny pivoted in the air above Eternal Feather and aimed a chop for the back of her neck to knock her out just like Black Star had shown him, but the back half of the switch blade arm caught the chop. Eternal Feather Feather started to turn to bring her blade up towards Danny. "Hand shovel form." Danny said quickly and Sam glowed and shortened into the hand shovel and Danny used the quicker weapon to block the blade.

After landing, Danny quickly moved in again, switching the shovel to his right hand he blocked another swing from the knife girl. Then using his free left hand he reached out and wrapped his fingers around Eternal Feather's head. "Eternal Feather, wake up!" He shouted. His eyes blazed green as he forced his way into her mind.

Eternal Feather's dream scape was a small village, probably from her home country of Vietnam. But rather than being filled with the important people in her life or her hopes and dreams, it was full of scorpions. Hundreds of little scorpions on ever surface that could be seen. Danny had to stop himself from drawing back in shock. He needed to find Eternal Feather and wake her up.

Quickly moving through the dream scape he found her in the middle of the village square, but she was not alone. A giant scorpion was in the middle of the square and snapped its claws at him as if warning him to stay back. Its tail was wrapped around an unconscious Eternal Feather with the stinger pressed into the girl's neck.

Danny took a shot at it with all the energy he could muster, but it head no effect. Before he could try again a shout brought him out of the dream scape. "Danny, look out!"

Danny had just enough time to pull away as the blade came for him again. He received only a small scratch for his attempt which closed quickly. "Rats, I almost had it." Danny said dropping back into stance.

Eternal Feather started to laugh in a very uncharacteristic fashion. "Don't kid yourself little ghost boy. You can't break my control. I'm out of your league." She said confusing Tsugumi and her friends.

"You're Shaula Gorgon, right?" Danny said he was a bit unnerved that his status as a ghost was being mentioned.

"Oh, you know my name, I'm flattered." Eternal Feather's voice head changed and she moved her human arm up and moved it across her cheek.

"After what happened in the alley, I did my homework. You'll find I am kind of a soar loser." Danny said glancing around the crowd that had gathered. He then whispered to his weapon. "Sam, can you sense a witch nearby?" He asked.

"I don't even know what a witch soul is like, but I'll try." Sam replied and started searching.

"Oh, I've noticed. Watching you train is one of my favorite pass times." Eternal Fea... Shaula said chuckling, but Eternal Feather's face was still transparent making the sound look hallow.

"So you've been watching me... creepy." Danny joked hoping to by Sam time to find the witch.

"Oh, don't be like that. After all you've been looking into me too." Shaula said slyly. "I just couldn't help myself. You are such an interesting little boy. Tell me, why is someone like you a lap dog for Death?"

"I guess I must just like the belly rubs." Danny said shrugging. "And it pays to be on the right side of the law. You should try it sometime. You could start by getting out of my friend."

"Oh, but I don't think that possession is actually illegal. And she was practically made of me." Shaula teased rubbing a hand seductively over Eternal Feather body. "She is a Scorpio after all." The strange marked eyes looked at Danny with a sense of greed behind them. "But if you are only working for Death for the belly rubs, why not work for me instead? I'll give you a belly rub you will never forget."

Danny flushed in horror and the confused crowd grew even more confused. "Wow... lady you're... what eight hundred years old? Don't you think that is robbing the cradle much." Danny said talking a step back. "Besides, I'm allergic to mind control. And I don't look good with blood shot eyes."

"Oh don't be like that." Shaula pouted. "My real body only looks seventeen... and is much better endowed than this one." She said cupping one of Eternal Feather's breasts while licking her lips.

Danny shivered. "Sam, hurry. This is getting weird." He mumbled to his weapon.

"Hey, why don't you try looking for her." Sam replied angrily. She was having no luck finding any weird soul waves and Shaula was sexually harassing her friend using another friend's body.

"You're not going to be able to find me." Shaula teased showing that she knew what they were up to. "I can control a girl like this one without the need to release my Soul Protect. Did you think I would risk my own safety for such an little thing?"

Danny's eye twitched. "Why didn't you just say that sooner so we wouldn't have wasted our time?"

"Because it's fun to tease you." Shaula said before adding. "And I really do want you at my side, Phantom." The pink and blue eyes seemed to look longingly at the half ghost. "Don't pretend you believe in the mission of the DWMA. That everyone should ether live under the rule of Death or be destroyed. That monsters and witches and ghosts are all corrupt and need to be eliminated. Don't you believe it is unfair? Don't you think that it is wrong?"

Danny paused. "I admit... I don't believe in any of those things. But what you are doing is wrong! Eternal Feather isn't even an EAT class student, she has nothing to do with any of this! If you want to change things then try a more peaceful answer!" Danny shouted.

Emotion finally reached Eternal Feather's face. It contorted in rage. "Peace." She said through gritted teeth. "Death has done much in the name of peace. He built this city, in the name of peace. He rules the world, in the name of peace. He skinned his own son alive, in the name of peace. He hunts my sisters like animals and feeds our souls to his weapons, in the name of peace! Even our children are not spared his 'peace'!" Eternal Feather's blade arm rose and spun around so that it's blade was over her neck. Danny's eyes widened. "If our children are not spared... why should his?"

"Don't!" Danny shouted running forward towards Eternal Feather. A single tear came from the possessed girl's eyes as she pulled in the blade, cutting off one of the braids... and into her neck.


	10. Aftermath, a time to heal?

**I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.**

* * *

Screams filled Death Square as panic erupted after Eternal Feather cut her own throat under the influence of a witch. Tsugumi fainted for the sight of all of her friend's blood.

Danny was holding Eternal Feather in his lap. He had torn off his cut sleeve in order to make a quick bandage over the wound but it was clear that such measures were dreadfully inadequate.

"Danny, we need to get her to a hospital, now!" Sam shouted still in hand shovel form. Danny's mind was spinning, an ambulance would take to long, the crowded streets couldn't hold the emergency transports.

Danny lifted Eternal Feather up in his arms and started running towards the nearest hospital he knew of, Doctor Stein's. But he felt so slow as he ran. "We won't make it in time." He said. If only he could just go ghost. He would be able to fly there in no time at all, but he couldn't.

Sam's thoughts were around the same. Each of them was thinking of the wind blowing through their ears as it did whenever they had flown in Amity Park. 'We need to fly.' They each thought again and again. The thought grew stronger and stronger along with their soul waves which were merging together, going back and forth between them, growing stronger. The same black aura that they had used on the first day of school gathered around them.

Eventually they couldn't take it any more. "We need to fly!" They shouted and the soul waves condensed over Danny's back forming a pair of short black wings, hardly more than his holders width, but they still allowed him to take to the air.

"We... we're flying." Danny said shocked but Sam got him back on track.

"Danny, girl now, questions later!" Sam shouted. Danny nodded and leaned forward causing him to rocket towards where he knew Stein's hospital to be.

* * *

Doctor Stein was sitting on his front porch reading some files on the data he had gathered from observing Phantom. What his measurements were saying excited him. For starters, Phantom didn't have a true healing wavelength, that is a soul wave that promotes healing. Instead his soul seemed to have a memory of how his body is supposed to be and reconstructs anything that became too damaged. Rather than just a sound soul being created by a sound mind and body, his body and mind were also maintained by the sound soul. This created a loop which forced stability.

No normal human body should be able to react that directly to their soul waves to such a extent. This must be where his exposure to ghost waves must have come into the picture. Stein looked out over the city thinking of the possibilities that such a soul offers.

But then he noticed that the boy's soul waves had intensified and were heading straight for him. Danny came down out of the sky with short wings made out of pure soul waves, condensed until made visible even to the unperceptive eye. In his arms was a girl a little older than he was who was bleeding from a wound in the neck.

Stein looked down at his cup of coffee and poured it onto the ground. "Last time I use instant coffee." He mumbled. But he soon realized he wasn't delusional as Danny ran up to him and quickly demanded his help.

Stein nodded and brought the girl into his hospital and got to work immediately. 'First time I've had a live patient in a long time.' He thought as he gave Danny and Sam instructions on how to help and pulled on his gloves. 'Shouldn't be too hard.'

* * *

Two hours of grueling surgery later Stein was finishing the bandaging of the young weapon girl's neck and Danny and Sam were cleaning the equipment.

"Her life isn't in any danger anymore, but she will need to stay here for a while." Stein said pulling out a cigarette that Sam snatched away from him.

"Don't smoke in front of a patient." She snapped at the world's strongest meister. "What kind of Doctor are you?"

"A researcher kind." Stein grumbled. But he noticed that even though the Eternal Feather's life was out of danger Sam's soul was still full of uneasy. Uneasy that had nothing to do with the day's events. "Sam, I need you to please change Eternal Feather into some hospital gowns. It wouldn't be right for me to do something like that." Stein pointed out before turning to Danny. "You should leave for this. Go and get something for yourself to eat, it will help with the nerves. I'll send your partner out later."

Danny nodded and left the room in a hurry, he was not used to seeing that much of someone else's blood. Stein handed Sam the hospital gown and put a privacy curtain between them.

As Sam worked she heard Stein asked her a question. "So what's on your mind? You seem preoccupied about something." Stein asked. Sam nearly froze as he said it.

"Wh... What do you mean? Nothings wrong." Sam said unconvincingly.

"Most people who just had a friend hospitalized wouldn't say that." Stein pointed out. "Some thing is wrong and you are trying to keep it to yourself. But doing so is bad for your soul waves. Keep it up and you won't be able to resonate souls with Phantom anymore."

Sam bit the inside of her cheek. She didn't want to speak out her innermost thoughts, but she didn't know what she would do if she couldn't be Danny's partner anymore. "Promise you won't tell anyone."

"Doctor patient confidentiality; unless it is to save your life nothing will leave my lips." Stein said calmly from the other side of the curtain.

Sam swallowed as she gently pulled one of the sleeves into place. "It's this whole... Deathscythe thing." Sam admitted. Stein nodded though the girl couldn't see him. Most students worried that they were not good enough to be Deathscythes, but Sam's next words threw him for a loop. "I'm a vegan for Death's sake, I don't even eat meat, and they want me to eat SOULS!"

'Oh for the love of... that's what this is about?' Stein thought miserably. 'If she refused to develop as a weapon because of this, then my experiment will be ruined. I will never see the full extent of a ghost soul wave enhanced weapon. At least not without doing something that Death would have my head for. I got to fix this.'

"Interesting. So you find your views as a vegan to contradict the goals of the DWMA, is that right." Stein asked trying to think of how he was going to persuade her.

"Ye... yeah." Sam admitted.

"Alright then, tell me... why do you not eat meat?" Stein asked.

"Because I don't think that I have the right to eat another innocent creature." Sam said definitely, it was a strong belief for her.

"You say that you won't eat another innocent creature... but are prekeshin's innocent? They are beings who have murdered and eaten dozens if not hundreds of human souls. Can you really call them innocent?" Stein asked the young weapon.

Sam paused thinking about the logic. "Still... eating souls." Sam said, it seemed almost like a whine. "Why can't we just stop them... and put them in prison or something?"

"I understand that our methods are not perfect. But if we concentrated all of that madness into one place like a prison, then who knows what might happen. And if we do not create Deathscythes then we may not have the power to stop a keshin when one emerges." Stein reasoned. He pulled out another cigarette and lit this one. Taking a long puff he blew the smoke towards a window. "It is simply the lesser evil. Should the madness return to the world, all innocence would be at risk of being destroyed."

"I... I understand." Sam said as she finished dressing Eternal Feather. "It isn't the same as abusing our power over innocent animals. We are gathering our strength to protect the people who can't defend themselves."

"Exactly." Stein said relieved that the girl saw things his way.

"I'm done." Sam said before moving out from behind the curtain.

"Ah, thank you." Stein said grinning a rather terrifying grin. "I hear that some of the girls friend who were at the incident are waiting out in the hall. Want to help me set up a few pranks for them?"

Sam actually laughed. "Are you serious?"

"Nothing is better for the soul after a event like this then a little shock and some laughter." Stein said, though the true was that he just like to mess with people.

* * *

Danny had just passed Tsugumi, Meme and Anya in the hall and assured them that everything was going to be ok before heading out the hospital. It was true that he was a little hungry but before he could start heading home to make some lunch he was stopped by Clay and Akane.

"Phantom, we need to talk to you." Akane said pulling Phantom to the side of the street were no one could overhear them.

"I guess you are here for a report of what happened." Danny said, he looked a little tired from the day's experiences. "Eternal Feather was possessed by a witch named Shaula Gorgon."

The two Intellegence agents exchanged looks. "Are you sure? How do you know?" Akane asked.

"Because I asked and she said yes." Danny said shrugging. "I suppose she didn't see any point in denying who she is."

"But how did you know that name?" Clay asked suspiciously.

"After you wouldn't tell me what was going on after the traitor incident, I did a little digging of my own." Danny said looking at the two. "It wasn't that hard to figure out. The brand she puts in her victim's eyes is really a Scorpio mark. After you know what their theme is, it isn't hard to research the witch. Eternal Feather had a simular mark in her eye whenever she attacked. Shaula puts people to sleep and then uses them like puppets. I tried to shock Eternal Feather out of her sleep but the hold the magic had on her was too great and seem to be renewing after my attempt to break it. If I had to venture a guess, I would say it was a hypnotic drug acting as an receiver for her magic."

Clay and Akane looked a little embarrassed. After all, it took them weeks to figure all that out. They pulled out a sketch of a girl. "Did you see this person in the crowd?" Clay asked shocking Danny the picture.

Danny looked hard at the drawing. It was of what looked like a seventeen year old girl in a sailor uniform with one large braid behind her back. "So that is what she looks like... would have been nice if you told me that when I asked a few weeks back. I searched the faces in the crowd by I don't think I saw that one. She did say that her real body looked around seventeen." Danny admitted.

"She spoke to you? What did she say?" Akane asked.

Danny's face darkened. "She said a lot of things. It seems she's been stalking me since the incident in the alley. And she hates the DWMA's policy on eating witches' souls to gain power and keep the peace... can't say I blame her. That kind of peace probably doesn't have much appeal to someone who has to watch their loved one's die."

"She's been stalking you?" Clay asked weirded out.

"She said that she watches me while I train, though I never noticed her. My soul waves do get me a lot of unwanted attention. Like Doctor Stein." Danny said thinking about the things that Shaula said. She wanted him to join her.

Akane nodded. "Thank you for your cooperation. Please come and talk to us if you remember anything else." Akane said but before any of them could leave something that looked like the disembodied head of Eternal Feather ran pasted them on its braids. "What... was that?" The Intelligence agent asked unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"I... don't... know." Danny said just as confused. Things were getting really weird lately.

* * *

"You're finally getting to go back to the girl's dorm, you excited?" Sam asked Eternal Feather as they walked with Danny back towards the girl's dorm after she had been discharged from Stein's hospital after three days.

Danny felt a little guilty that he had not visited her while she was at the hospital, but he was filled with regret. He had been unable to stop her from getting hurt, and no matter how many people told him it wasn't his fault he new better. If he had been stronger, if he had broken the witch's control, than Eternal Feather won't have gotten hurt. Sam shared simular feeling about it. But when Stein had asked them to escort her back to the girls' dorm they agreed.

"Yes, it will be nice to see everyone again." Eternal Feather said smiling. "Thank you again for getting me to hospital so fast and helping Doctor Stein save me." She said for probably the fifth time.

"Please stop mentioning it. It was the least we could do." Sam said trying to keep on a happy face. "I can't wait to see the others faces when they see the fake windup screw." Sam and Stein had convinced Eternal Feather to play one last practical joke on Tsugumi, Meme and Anya.

"As long as you think it will go over well." Eternal Feather said smiling. She glanced over at Danny how had been quite the entire time. It was a hot summer day in the middle of a heat wave, but Danny was still dressed in his usual jeans and jacket. "Aren't you hot, Phantom?" Eternal Feather asked trying to get him to talk.

"Hm? No, not really. I have an ice based soul wave so I don't really get hot." Danny said shrugging. "What about you? That outfit isn't exactly for this kind of weather." Danny commented, Eternal Feather was wearing her usual nun like clothes.

"I will have to change when I get back to my room." Eternal Feather admitted chuckling a little.

They turned into the dorms to find that Anya and Tsugumi were standing out front. It looked as if Tsugumi was splashing water on the ground.

They spotted Eternal Feather as they approached. "Miss Eternal Feather!" Tsugumi said excitedly.

"You got discharged today?" Anya asked glad to see that their upperclassman was alright.

"If you'd said something, we would have picked you up." Tsugumi added.

"That's ok, Doctor Stein asked Phantom and Sam to take me. And I already knew the way." Eternal Feather said smiling. "There is not need to concern yourselves. It did leave a little bit of a scar, but at the DWMA, scars are badges of honor, right?" Eternal Feather pulled down her collar to show a scar running across the right side of her neck. All the other students winced.

Seeing everyone's sad looks Eternal Feather put her hands on her hips. "It's nothing at all, ok? See?" She said spinning around so that Tsugumi and Anya could see the fake screw on her back.

"She has a screw in her back!" Anya and Tsugumi shouted together in surprised. Sam broke out laughing and Danny was reduced to giggles as Eternal Feather pulled the screw off.

"Sam and Doctor Stein were right, that did go over well." Eternal Feather said smiling.

"Sam that was mean!" Tsugumi complained giving that flusted face that made Sam laugh even harder.

"But it fixed the awkward moment so well." Sam said through her chuckles.

"Ah, Eternal Feather! You're out of the hospital!" Meme said running up to join the group. "I'm so glad you're feeling better!" She said happily.

"Thank you. You're looking well to Meme." Eternal Feather said greeting her friend.

"Yes... but." Meme admitted but then looked over her shoulder with a concerned expression.

Jacqueline was stumbling around half heartedly behind her. "Have to... celebrate... your discharge... sometime..." Jackie said though she didn't look at any of them.

"Miss Jacqueline... what's the matter?" Tsugumi asked as the lantern joined the group.

"You look like it's the end of the world or something." Sam said crossing her arms.

"Kim and I have broken up." Jackie said. Everyone was rather shocked. "After we became partners, we were doing so well together." Jackie brought up her hands so that the others couldn't see her tears. "What am I going to do!?"

Suddenly the bun on her head burst into flames. The girls staggered back away from the heat as Danny stood their blinking.

"Jackie! You need to control yourself!" Sam said sharply. Jackie looked up at the other EAT class weapon. "You're give off a lot of heat. I'm sure that is the reason why Kim wants some space right now. Usually she's fine with it since you only raise the temperature around you by a few degrees but in a heat wave that becomes harder to bare." Sam said moving closer to Danny. "Danny, little help here."

Danny nodded and the blue in his eyes grew even brighter. The temperature around them drop several degrees until it was cooler than it had been a few seconds ago.

"You just need to learn to control your own powers a bit better, then I'm sure Kim will take you back." Danny said letting up on his cold as Jackie regained her composer and the fire on her head died.

"You... you think so?" Jackie asked sniffling a little.

"Sure, when Danny first started producing ice I had to band him from my green house because he would freeze all my plants, but he learned control and so can you." Sam said putting a hand on Jackie's shoulder. "Why don't the two of you go to were you can't burn or freeze anything important and practice some. I'm sure Danny could give you a few pointers." Sam suggested.

"I can?" Danny said meaning it as a question.

But Jackie didn't take it that way. "Thank you Phantom." She said tearing up again and her hair caught fire again. Sam had to back away quickly.

'This could take a while.' Danny thought a little worried before leaving with Jackie to go to one of the training halls at the DWMA.

* * *

(To lazy to write bonding between Danny and Jackie. They would have talked a lot about Kim.)

* * *

**Thank you to whatever guest pointed out that I kept using peasant instead of patient. I had no idea how to spell patient.**


	11. To Find a Witch, the child Angela?

I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.

* * *

Over a week had gone by and they were reaching the beginning of October. But there hadn't been a sign new incident dealing with the witch Shaula Gorgon. Danny and Sam were not taking the injury of their friend sitting down and were trying to find the witch to stop her themselves, with or without the DWMA, but at every turn they ran into dead ends in the form of an unwilling Intelligence Agency. Denying them access to all forms of evidence and witnesses.

"This is so infuriating!" Sam shouting in the cafeteria as she threw the book she had been reading on the Gorgon sisters against the table. "It is as if they went over everything with a fine tooth coomb to make sure that everything in the one star meisters' section of the library was absolutely useless!"

"Tell me about it." Danny said while looking through a book on the theories of magic. "I have yet to find anything in this book at all. Some religious garble but not any actual theories about how magic works that could help us track it or find the center or fight the mind control. This stuff is worthless."

"Well this isn't getting us anywhere." Sam sighed. "We need a new approach." She looked over at Kim. "Don't suppose you know how to track down Shaula." She asked in a hushed voice.

Kim glanced around to make sure no one was listening in before whispering back. "No, I haven't been back to Witch City in a long time so I don't know what any of them are up to. And I would have to drop my Soul Protect in over to search for her through magic. Not exactly the safest thing for me to do in Death City." Kim admitted.

"Figured as much." Danny said putting down his book. "But we can't quit. She isn't just targeting official miesters and weapons, or even only EAT class students. Shaula is possessing normal people and NOT class students. She wants to destroy Death City from within. Ends justify the means style."

They all looked glumly down at the table. "Well... you could always ask another witch if they know where she is." Kim said almost as a side thought. Sam and Danny were startled by the idea.

"Do you know were we can find one?" Danny asked before adding. "Just to question, nothing else."

Kim chuckled causing Danny to blush. "Like you could kill a fly. But yeah, Angela lives two towns over." Kim said pulling up a map on her phone she showed them the location of the witch's house. "Unless she moved in the last few months, you can find her here. But she is guarded by a pretty powerful samurai. A weak little wisp like you could get hurt." The good witch teased.

Sam plotted the place on her own phone. "Two towns over huh. Tomorrow is the weekend so we'll have enough time." Sam said looking to her partner. "Want to check it out?"

"Don't really have much of a chose do we? It's either this or homework." Danny said praying that the samurai would just let them talk but pretty sure that things would get ugly. "What about you? You coming?" Danny asked Kim.

"No way, if I did that would blow my cover wide open." Kim said waving them off. "You could not pay me enough."

Danny and Sam had to agree with Kim that it was too dangerous for her to be seen, so later that evening they moved out into the back alley behind their dorm. "Ready Sam?" Sam nodded and turned into her hand shovel form. Danny caught her and they started to synchronize their souls. "Lets go! Soul Resonance!" They shouted together. The black aura washed over them before forming the wings. "Phantom Wings!"

They took to the sky and flew towards where they had been told the witch Angela lived. But they didn't notice that they were being watched. "I wonder were my little ghost boy is going at a time like this." Shaula mused as she watched them fly off in her crystal ball. "Perhaps I should follow him. It my prove enlightening."

* * *

Danny gave a long yawn. After they had left Death City they had landed so that Danny could just transform into his ghost form and fly the rest of the way to Iguana City. So by the next morning when they finally arrived in town Danny was beat tired. But Sam was still rested and restless.

"Come on, Danny. We need to go see Angela now if we want to get back to the DWMA before Black Star gets back from his mission." Sam said pulling her partner along.

"Sam, I'm too tired for this. What if there is a fight?" Danny tried to reason. He want breakfast at the very least.

"Why would they try to fight us? We are two kids coming to ask a question. It isn't like we are wearing the academy emblem right now." Sam countered. And that was true enough, they had been smart enough not to wear anything that had Death's mark on it.

"Oh yeah, because witches just love girl scout cookies. Sam, when has there ever not been a fight?" Danny said but her was starting to give up on acting like a sack of potato's and was lightly jogging along side her. "If it's not the witch or the samurai, it will be something else."

"What is the mafia going to show up?" Sam joked as they turned the final corner to the dead end alley were they were told to look for Angela's house. Kim had told them that they couldn't miss it, and she was right. The house stook out about as much as Fenton Works.

The building looked like a dusty castle entrance with the door in the center and two large cement wings on either side of them. Right above the door was a giant chameleon like head sticking out its tong and there were several stone pillars randomly scattered around the front entrance.

"You think a witch lives here?" Sam asked sarcastically as they walked up to the front entrance.

"So what's the plan? Just ask nicely where Shaula is and hope they don't try to blast us?" Danny asked Sam.

"Well... when you put it like that, it sounds a lot like we are asking for directions." Sam said crossing her arms.

"Well that ain't good." Danny mumbled looking around. "So where is the universe trying to bite me in the butt?" They heard loud shouts and gun fire coming towards the alley. "There it is!"

Sam turned into a spade and Danny grabbed her, turning invisible he ducked into a corner behind one of the chameleon cheeks. Coming in from around the corn of the street was what appeared to be the Mafia. Each was wearing some kind of metal mask and had shark like teeth. "Oh you have got to be kidding me." Sam whispered in disbelief. "The prekeshin mafia, what are the odds."

"Wow, the universe just loves us today." Danny whispered back. "Stuck between what looks like a hundred monsters and a witch and legendary samurai."

The noise made by the monster mafia must have been heard by the occupants of the chameleon house, the doors opened and out walked a man in a white long sleeve shirt, a heavy brown trench coat and tattered jeans. He had long gray hair and rather tan skin. At his side was a basket of swords. It looked like he had enough to put one in every single one of the mafia monsters.

"What do you want." The gray haired man asked in an agitated voice. He didn't exactly look the part of a samurai, but he sure did give off a weird untouchable vive. One that went completely unnoticed by the monsters.

"We are here for the witch Angela's soul! Bring her out and maybe we will spare you!" A particularly fat mobster said sneering.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." The samurai said pulling his basket of blades forward. "You see, my sword is sworn to protect her. I will not let a single one of you corrupted humans get passed me alive." He jerked the basket and all the blades went flying into the air and landed all over the soon to be battle field. Some caution tape came flying out and wrapped around the pillars boxing everyone in. The samurai grabbed a blade that had landed at his feet out of the ground and brandished it. "If I did... children might get hurt."

"Children? The fuck is this guy talking about?" One of the mobsters said.

"Who cares, kill him. Then when the witch's soul is mine, we will be the most powerful family in the city." The boss said taking a puff on a old fashion saggar. The mobsters all pulled out tommy-guns.

"Sam... should we help him?" Danny asked worriedly. He didn't like were all this was going.

"No... he'll be fine." Sam said as she stared at the samurai's soul. "His soul is bigger than all of theirs combined... he is powerful."

The samurai ran forward in a burst of speed that was beyond anything that Danny had ever imagined from a human. He pulled more swords out off the ground as he went, juggling several at a time, using them to deflect the storm of bullets that were being shot at him. He plunged them into the bodies of the monsters before replacing them as the fallen turned into red orbs. Danny's jaw dropped, the man was good, even better than Black Star.

But what really threw him for a loop was when the door to the castle opened again before the fight was done and a five year old girl's head stook out. "Mifune!?" The little girl said worriedly. Danny and Sam saw the girl and it was clear she was the witch Angela.

"She's just a little kid." Sam said a little shocked. She was hardly up to their knees of you didn't include her chameleon style witch's hat. She had shoulder length pinkish brown hair and large blue eyes.

"Angela go back inside!" The samurai, Mifune, shouted.

"There's the witch!" The leader of the mob shouted. "Get her!" Several of the guns turned in Angela's direction.

"Angela!" Mifune shouted but he was to far away from the girl to save her.

Angela screamed as the guns went off. But Danny and Sam jumped into action. "Soul Resonance! Phantom Guard!" Positioning himself in front of the young witch, Danny plunged the head of Sam's spade into the ground and a black energy barrier appeared with a white phantom emblem in the center off it. The bullets bounced harmlessly off the shield. Angela stumbled back with wide eyes. "Stay back, it's not safe here." Danny said to the little witch. Angela nodded and moved back behind the door but her head was still sticking out.

"We've already shown ourselves. Might as well help." Sam said as Danny pulled her out of the ground and the shield disappeared.

Danny charged up a large soul wave and passed it through Sam as he swung the spade around causing a wind that blasted the prekeshin's off their feet. 'Prekeshins exist only to devour souls and become keshins... I cannot show mercy.' Danny had to tell himself.

Running forward, he joined Mifune in cleaning up what was left of the monsters and making sure that none of them got away. Remembering what Tsubaki said about observing potential enemies techniques and forming plans Danny and Sam both kept an eye on Mifune throughout the fight. They found out two things; in style they were completely out classed, and that Mifune was observing them too.

But it didn't take long before all of the mafia members were dead and they were standing in a sea of keshin eggs. Mifune turned to them not putting away his swords. "I thank you for your assistance, but I am afraid I must ask who you children are, and why you are here?" His sword was not at the ready so Sam and Danny took that as a good sign.

"We just came here to talk." Danny said putting Sam down so he would not seem a threat. Sam returned to her human form. "We never had any intention of fighting you, or hurting Angela."

Mifune looked at the two before starting to walked around the clearing picking up his swords and putting them away. "I believe you. My name is Mifune, I am the bodyguard of the witch Angela." Danny and Sam each gave a small sigh of relief.

Danny felt a small tug on his sleeve and looked down to see Angela smiling up at him. "Thank you for helping Mifune." She said with a wide smile. Then she started skipping back to her castle. Before going in through the door she turned back to them. "Come on, don't just stand around outside sillies."

The two DWMA students looked to Mifune who nodded, giving his permission and followed Angela into her house. Angela lead them to a large play room and insisted that they play with her so Sam ended up playing with large multicolored blocks with her. Sam's motherly nature started to come to the surface as she babied the little witch. Danny actually wondered if she even remembered what they came for. Despite her dark and badass attitude, Sam loved small children.

Mifune soon joined them and placed his basket of swords on the nearby wall. Gesturing towards a table he sat down to start the talking. "You said you came here to ask for something? It is odd that students from the DWMA would come to a place like this to ask a question instead of simply attacking a witch."

"Oh... you noticed we were from the DWMA." Danny said nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "I suppose that was pretty obvious since we are weapon and meister. I'm Danny Fenton, and my partner is Sam Manson. It's nice to meet you."

"Students have come in the past hoping to steal Angela's soul, but none have been to seriously hurt. I am against hurting children when I can help it." Mifune said watching Sam play with Angela.

"I would rather avoid fighting altogether when I can help it. I don't feel like killing solves our problems." Danny said also watching. "Why would anyone want to hurt someone like Angela. She's just a little girl; completely innocent." Mifune nodded.

"We are getting side tracked, what is your question?" Mifune asked.

Danny nodded. "We came to ask Angela if she could help us find a certain witch; Shaula Gorgon." Angela's head shot up upon hearing Shaula's name.

"You know big sister Shaula?" Angela asked with a wide smile.

"Um... we're acquainted." Sam said not really sure how to put it.

"Shaula is always really really nice." Angela said jumping around. "She always give me new toys and plays with me at those boring ceremonies." That kicked a few heart strings for the meister and weapon.

"Why is it that you are searching for her?" Mifune asked, not crossly, just curious. "I assume you are not on a mission from the academy, so what are you doing?"

"Well... Shaula is causing a lot of trouble back in Death City. A few random civilians and NOT class students have been seriously hurt by her actions. One man is dead." Danny said hoping that Mifune would see things his way. "I think she is planning to use mass hypnosis to cause a riot that will destroy all of Death City. If she succeeds, a lot of innocent people could die... our friends had already been hurt, more than once."

Mifune's face soured a little. "What would you do about it?" Mifune asked after a short pause. "Are you planning on killing her?"

"You're not going to hurt big sister, are you?" Angela asked Sam looking up at the weapon with her huge blue eyes.

Danny didn't answer for a while so Sam did. "I don't know. I'm hoping we can stop her without it going that far. She... I understand where she is coming from, her reasons for hating the DWMA." Sam said looking down at Angela. "She just wants to protect the other witches. But the way she is going about it is all wrong."

"It is unlikely that you would be able to change Shaula's mind. Her actions are built upon eight hundred years of watching her people hunted." Mifune said shaking his head.

"Doesn't mean we shouldn't try." Danny mumbled. "And even if we can't convince her to stop, we might be able to stop her plan without anyone getting hurt." After a moments pause he continued. "Shaula want's to protect the witches, the DWMA want's to protect the humans... so why is everyone getting hurt?" Danny said. "Why can't we all just simply stop fighting?"

"Because adults are stupid." Angela said running over and sitting in Mifune's lap. "Except for Mifune."

"There is simply too much hatred." Mifune said patting the young witch on the head. "Pain breeds more pain and death breeds more death."

"So why can't kindness breed more kindness." Danny reasoned.

"If only it was that easy." Mifune said then he got back to the real topic. "I'm afraid that we cannot help you find Shaula Gorgon. She is one of the few witches who assist me in protecting Angela. We cannot afford to betray her. I'm sorry. I wish you luck in protecting your friends."

"Oh... well thank you for your time." Danny said a little sadly.

Angela seemed to be getting bored. "Come on, lets play!" She shouted and ran up to Danny. "Tag, your it!" She shouted before running from the room. So Danny and Sam played with Angela for two more hours before they decided that it was time to go.

* * *

"Bye! Come back again sometime! Then we can play again!" Angela shouted as Danny and Sam finally left.

"What interesting children." Mifune said as they left. Then he added a little louder. "I know you're there. Come out."

Angela was confused until Shaula walked out off the shadows. "Oh, I was starting to worry that you had lost your touch, samurai." Shaula teased putting a finger to her cheek. "After all, you didn't notice the boy until he jump in to rescue Angela."

"I will admit that I over looked him." Mifune said bowing his head a little. "And I have a name, and it isn't samurai."

"Big sister Shaula!" Angela cheered and ran up to the older witch who patted her on the head lovingly. "Danny and Sam were looking for you." She said happily. "You should have come sooner, then we could have all played together."

"Maybe another time, Angela. But tell me, what did you think of Danny?" She asked gently.

Angela grinned. "He was really nice, like Mifune. But he did say a lot of things that I didn't understand, like Mifune." Said samurai coughed a little embarrassed.

Shaula giggled, the sound seemed rather hollow, but they new that it was just how Shaula was. "And what was your take on the boy, samurai?" Shaula asked Mifune. She never had anything against Mifune, in fact she was fond of the man that placed an ideal above all other things, including logic. But she had found that he refused to show that he was upset by the fact that she only called him samurai, so she continued hoping that he would one day snap and make a funny scene.

Mifune sighed at the fact that the witch had refused to use his name yet again. "His fighting style is underdevelop, but he does have a good deal of strength. He hesitates though, even against the prekeshin he was hesitant to land a finish blow. The boy is too kind hearted for his own good."

"Sounds like a certain samurai I know." Shaula teased causing Angela to giggle. "I'm glad he has gained your approval. After all, that boy is going to be the savior of the witches. The one who will free us from under Death's thumb."

"Do you really think that he would join you?" Mifune asked.

Shaula smiled at the bodyguard. "He was right about my plan. I was going to destroy all of Death City in over to stop the DWMA from hunting our sisters." Shaula said lifting up Angela in her arms. "But I know that even such extreme measures would only be a temporary solution. This war is not between the witches and man, or even the witches and the DWMA. Death himself is our true enemy, the one who labeled us the enemy of peace and uses his pawns to hunt us to steal our souls. But that boy..." Shaula whispered as she started to tickle Angela. "He has power... power beyond even the grand witch herself. Enough power to stand up to Death."

Angela and Mifune's eyes widened. "Big brother is really that strong?" Angela asked in awe.

Shaula smiled as she looked up at the sun above them. "Yes Angela. Your big brother is going to help me change the world, so you can play wherever you wish." She said there was hope inside of her still rather frightening voice.

Shaula stayed with Angela for a short period of time before leaving to go back to Death City herself. Right before a certain loud mouthed ninja showed up.

* * *

The following day Black Star handed over all the keshin eggs that came from the mobsters. He decided that since he didn't kill them he shouldn't take them. And he was still feeling to out of it from the moral decision of letting the witch Angela live to want the souls as a constant reminder of how close he had been to making Tsubaki a Deathscythe.

"Alright, I will put them away then." Death said just before Black Star left the room with Tsubaki. The weapon was proud of him for his decision and knew that Black Star would still one day turn her into a Deathscythe.

"Strange kid. He should have taken the souls." Spirit said as he watched the kids leave.

"Hm... that's odd." Death said looking through the bag of soul eggs.

"What is it?" Spirit asked his boss.

"There were supposed to be ninety nine prekeshin's in that mafia family... but there are only ninety eight eggs here." Death said scratching his chin. "Oh well. I'm sure nothing bad can come from just one little egg."

But in her hiding place inside of Death City Shaula held the Keshin egg in her hand. "And with this, I will have all I need to make you mine, my little ghost boy." She giggled darkly before getting to work on the final stages of her plan.


	12. The Time is Coming, the words of Fate?

I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.

* * *

"Alright class settle down." Sid shouted in order to regain control of his class after another one of Black Star's antics. "Today we are going to be going over the effects of incompatible souls; when meister and weapon's souls do not match up properly." He then smirked at the ninja who was practically his adopted son. "And today we happen to have the perfect examples in this class. Black Star and Tsubaki come up here, you too Phantom and Sam."

"Hey, I don't know what your talking about teach! Our soul waves are the best!" Black Star shouted but he walked to the front of the class since he wanted even more attention.

"Alright, now can someone tell me why I picked these four?" Sid asked looking to the class. Maka raised her hand. "Maka."

"Because they all have similar souls." Maka said looking at the four with her perception. "Sam and Black Star's are both very sporadic and aggressive and Phantom and Tsubaki's are timid and... supportive?" Maka said trying to find the words to describe them.

"Very good. Now Sam I would like for you to take on a weapon form... the spade will do." Sid requested. Sam nodded and transformed. "Alright, now Black Star, try picking up Sam."

"Alright, whatever you say teach." Black Star said reaching out and grabbing onto Sam's pole. But the moment his fingers closed around it he gave a shout of pain and let go of Sam. "Phantom, your crazy weapon burned me." He said showing burn makes on his hands. Black Star glared at Sam. "I'm not failing this exercise just because of you!" Black Star tried again to lift Sam, ignoring the pain he managed to lift Sam up.

"Black Star, stop!" Sid said but there was no reasoning with him.

Then Black Star tried sending his own soul waves into Sam and Sam gave a yelp of pain. Turning back into her human from she hit Black Star on the head with her shovel hand. "That hurt you moron!" She shouted at him.

"You started it!" Black Star shouted back holding his head with his hands.

"Stop it, both of you!" Sid shouted over them and placed himself between them. The two eventually stopped and Sid moved on to Tsubaki and Danny. "Alright, now you two."

Tsubaki turned into her ninja star form and Danny tried to lift her. He didn't feel any pain but her found that he was completely unable to make her budge. Even using two hands and putting all his weight behind it, he couldn't lift her.

"You can stop now." Sid said casually. "So now you have seen the two different extremes in incompatibility. Either the soul waves were negatively react to each other and seek to drive each other out and assert its own dominance, or they will not react at all and the meister won't even be able to lift the weapon."

"Professor, I don't understand, they have almost identical wavelengths." Kim said staring hard at the group.

"They do, but no all soul wave complement themselves very well. Sam and Black Star's souls both desired dominance in the link and to be the leader. So they fought against each other, if they continued for too long they could have caused some serious harm to each other." Sid explained. "Phantom and Tsubaki are on the other extreme. Neither one wanted to lead and each was waiting for the other to take control. So in the end, no reaction happened."

"So if your soul waves don't match up then you can never be each other partners?" Estelle asked.

"Yes and no, you will never receive maximum results, but there are meisters who can adjust their soul's wavelengths to match with any weapon." Sid said.

"So... if I change my wavelength, then I would be able to lift Tsubaki?" Danny said looking down at the star. He decided to give it a try. He started to think about what he needed, Tsubaki was Black Star's partner, so he would need a wavelength more like Black Star's.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up. There are very few meisters with souls flexible enough to pull it off." Sid said but Danny continued. He had changed his soul's nature before, he had to every time he used his powers as a ghost. The problem is he did it all through his emotions and practice, and he didn't have soul perception.

Danny's green soul pushed out from his body and stabilized, the blue Phantom 'D' appearing in the center. Danny concentrated trying to imagine what Black Star's soul would be like. The outer boundary of his soul began to flicker and spike out and pulse and the 'D' started to shift taking on the shape of a star.

"His soul... it's changing shape." Maka announced to those in the class that couldn't see souls.

Finally Danny started to lift Tsubaki off the ground. "He... he did it." Sid said more than a little surprised.

A hug grin split across Danny's face and he shouted. "Yahhoooo!" Everyone's jaws dropped. "Was there ever any doubt? Of course I did it, I'm Phantom, I just that badass!" He said spinning around and holding Tsubaki's throwing star form above his head and laughing like... Black Star.

The entire class burst into laughter. "What?" Danny said and the spell was broken and his soul snapped back to normal. He fell on his butt as he found he could no longer carry Tsubaki and the laughter redoubled.

"Phantom, that was the best Black Star impersonation ever!" Kim said through tears of laughter.

"Oh if only I had a camera!" Soul choked. "That was so cool and uncool at the same time!"

"Danny, please never the that again!" Sam said bending over and holding her gut. "The last thing this world needs is two Black Stars."

"Yahoo! I knew all that training would pay off someday!" Black Star shouted happily to everyone's amusement.

"Kill me now." Danny said humiliated.

"Yes... well." Sid managed to say though a coughing fit. "That was... very impressive. But usually meisters don't have to change their whole personalities in over to have some level of control over their soul waves. You can all go sit back down now." And invitation that was gratefully accepted by all but Black Star who had to receive a motivating kick in the butt from Sid. "Remember that any change in your soul wavelength can have a large effect on your ability to resonate with your partner. It doesn't have to be any where near as big as Phantom's dramatic change. And the effect can be either positive or negative. So for today's exercise we are going to..." Sid continued his lecture, but his thoughts were on Danny. He had never seen a soul actually change shape before, at least not without a long period of time... or magic.

'Perhaps I should speak with Stein about this.' He thought to himself. He needed peace of mind about something. With teaching, meister work and the investigation on Traitor and the witch Shaula, he was being pushed to his limits. But Phantom had something to do with the witch Shaula, or at least the witch had taken an interest in the young meister. Sid just hoped that it was nothing serious.

* * *

"It's useless." Danny grumbled at he and Sam got back from their latest attempt to look up information on Shaula. So far they had had zero good hits.

"This isn't working." Sam agreed through aside her spider theme backpack. "Maybe we should just wonder the streets hoping to be jumped by a Traitor so we can get one before the Central Intelligence jerks." The weapon girl suggested.

"I don't think she would jump out at us, she probably knows we're looking for her, we haven't been the most discrete about these things." Danny said as he pulled a soda out of the fridge. Then he went back towards the door. "I'm going to go over to Black Star and Tsubaki's in order to train for a little while. I'll probably be out late."

"Sure, just make sure you get enough sleep so you don't sleep in class again. You're worse about that than Black Star and Soul." Sam said waving him off.

"Yes mom." Danny said jokingly before dodging a pillow thrown by said 'mom'.

Danny walked off and down the hall over to his friends room. Knocking on the door he was greeted by Black Star's voice. "Who is it?" He said suspiciously.

"It's me Black Star, same as every night this last week." Danny said rolling his eyes.

"What's the password?" Black Star asked.

"Black Star do we really have..." Danny started but Black Star repeated his demand. Danny sighed. "The shovel is in the shed." He said rolling his eyes. The door opened a crack and Black Star hurried him in.

"I see you managed to escape that crazy weapon of yours again." Black Star laughed a huge grin on his face.

"She knows where I am, she just doesn't know what I'm doing here." Danny pointed out as he followed Black Star into the living area.

"Oh Phantom, your back, want some cookies?" Tsubaki asked showing the ghost boy a plate of chocolate chip. Danny gratefully accepted.

"Thanks Tsubaki. And thanks for letting me work on Sam's birthday present here. It's kind of hard to make a surprise present for her when we live in the same dorm room." Danny said as he moved to the makeshift work area he had been using for the last week.

"Don't mention it, but remember, Halloween is only two days away." Tsubaki pointed out as she put the plate of cookies under Black Star who was doing vertical situps, eating another cookie each time he went down. It was true Sam's birthday was coming up soon. Everyone thought it was a little funny that someone as scary as her was born on Halloween.

"I should be done in a few minutes. I don't have that much left to do." Danny said as he worked. "I had only been waiting on some parts, but now that I have them the rest is easy."

"I still think your crazy." Black Star said laughing. "Giving a girl like that crazy weapon a skin tight purple jumpsuit is bad enough, but you are also giving her guns to shoot you with once she goes ballistic. Not that smart."

Danny only shrugged as he added the right components the the compressor on the ecto-rifle. "It's a ghost hunter thing. You wouldn't understand."

"Whatever, so is anything new?" Black Star asked as he did more sit ups.

"Not really, we're still trying to find any information we can on these Traitor guys, but we keep hitting dead end after dead end. The guys in the Central Intelligence division aren't letting us know anything." Danny complained. "I don't really know what to do."

He was suddenly launched across the room by a punch to the head from Black Star. "What was that for!?" Danny asked rubbing his head.

"What are you stupid!?" Black Star countered standing over Danny with his arms crossed. "What kind of apprentice to a ninja are you!? If they aren't giving you the info you need than just sneak in there and steal it!" Danny's eyes widened.

"Black Star I don't..." Tsubaki started but Danny interrupted her.

"Why didn't I think of that?" He said in disbelief. "Right! Right after I finish this I'll go and get that info we need." Danny said determined as he turned back to his task. Tsubaki looked worried by she didn't say anything more.

* * *

It was the dream again. The same one Shaula had had on hundreds of nights before this one. Though it was really a memory. A memory of an event that had happened over eight hundred years before. When the Eight Powerful Warriors had came to one of the witches' settlements and raised it to the ground.

Shaula was just a little girl. She was in the middle of the burning abyss. The screams of her fellow witches slowly died off as their souls were silenced. She had tried her best not the cry, not to draw any attention to the fact that she was still alive as the warriors destroyed everything that the young Shaula had ever known. She had only been around Angela's age at the time, but her older sisters had always told her stories about the Eight Powerful Warriors to scare her. The origins of all madness in the world; Rage, Power, Order, Fear, Wisdom, Seclusion, Loyalty, and Fate. She had often thought about what she would do if they had ever came. And the plan was simple, play dead.

It had been hours since the attack had ended when Shaula finally thought it was safe to move. That is when he made his presence known. "What a tragedy, to befall one so young." Three terrifying voice said in unison, causing the girl to jump out of her skin.

Turning her head she saw him for the first time. One of the Eight Powerful Warriors, the one that had been referred to as 'Fate'. The being before her was a creature to be feared, a being whose very existence could cause people to fall into madness. Three heads sat upon his large shoulders looking the in three different directions. On the right was the head of a Lion, on the left a bull, and in the center was a human head. Huge black feathered wings came from its back from underneath its purple cloak were a serpent like tail extended out of the bottom.

Little Shaula's mixed pink and blue eyes widened in horror as she believed she was looking at her own end. "I see your future." The being said it seemed almost mocking. After all, what kind of future could exist for a witch that was standing in front of one of the Eight Powerful Warriors? "Should I let you live, you will become a powerful witch and one day lead a rebellion against my leader, Madness through Order. You will have a hand in ending the witch hunts for good." Shaula was shocked by what the god was saying. "But!... you will lose your mind, body, and soul before you see your sister witches free." Madness through Fate said all its eyes turning to look at the young witch.

"What is your chose?" Fate's voices demanded.

Shaula was shocked, the god was not simply going to kill her. She had never heard of one actually sparring a witch before. "I... I want to live." She mumbled.

Fate growled causing the girl to shrunk back again. "Then your fate is sealed!" Fate shouted, his madness waves pouring out and filling her with terror, and a glimpse of the future. Of a boy with snow white hair and green eyes with a kind smile. He was a ghost, but also a human.

'He must be the key.' She thought as darkness took her. The madness was sinking into her. 'I will find you...'

Shaula bolted up in her bed breathing heavily. Sweet ran off her enter body as she got up to take a cold shower. But were the nightmare had used to fill her with terror, it know held a different meaning for her. Though she had never seen his true form she knew in her bones that this boy, this living ghost, was the one that Fate had showed her so many hundreds of years ago.

She was the lone survivor of a massacre. But all the witches knew that you didn't survive something like that without a cost. The madness wavelengths that were unleashed on her had twisted her personality. She was considered unpredictable even by witch standards.

"He will help me defeat Death, and set my sisters free from the curse of living in persecution." Shaula said to herself longingly as she washed her body. "He will be... our salvation." Pulling out one of the Scorpio towels she went back to her crystal ball. She sent out her message to her sleeper agent, her first and best servant in Death City to go an steal more information on the DWMA. She wanted to make sure that when she launched her attack, she knew who all of the DWMA were.

She would take control of all the DWMA and turn it against Death, and after the reaper was gone, she would erase all of the DWMA's memories and then her sisters would be free. She pulled out a veil of red glowing liquid. "It will all be over... by the end of All Hallows' Eve."


	13. All Hallows Eve, the loss of a Phantom?

I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.

* * *

Danny had snuck into the underground records room in the night and started searching around the open cases trying to find the info on Shaula. He had gotten lists of cases and locates and sightings. So much information that it could have let him and Sam find the witch ten times over by then if they had just had it earlier. Danny pulled out papers and started copying the relative information.

But before he could finish he hear a key turning in the door. Danny's eyes bugged out and he snapped the book shut before retreating into a corner and turning invisible and focused on lowering his souls output. Such a measure wouldn't help him against anyone with heightened soul perception, but if he was lucky and they weren't paying attention he might just get away with it.

The door creaked upon and in came Meme. Danny almost lost his composer from shock. Why on Earth would the ditzy Meme of the NOT class be there. She wasn't supposed to be allowed in there... well neither was Danny but that was beside the point.

Meme moved a little drunkenly towards a shelf and looking along the bookcases she pulled out one of the school records and started reading. Her moments didn't seem like her normal natural movements. Danny vaguely remembered Tsugumi telling them that Meme was some kind of drunken boxer without the alcohol once she got sleepy.

Turning around Meme stepped up onto a chair behind her, jumped onto a table and then leaped up to the second story and grabbing onto the outside of the railing to search the shelves up there. She was a graceful drunk, as much of an oxymoron as that sounds. But Danny still couldn't figure out how she was even there.

"Meme." A whisper shout came from the door that crept open. Ayna and Tsugumi were standing in the doorway. Anya was the one who had been calling out to Meme, Tsugumi seemed to be doing her best not to look at her partner candent. "Meme, what are you doing? Please wake up. You're not supposed to be in here."

Meme looked towards them but her eyes still seemed almost closed. Danny was shocked. 'Sleep walking... could she be hypnotized?' Anya continued to try to get Meme's attention until she was interrupted by two people coming up behind them.

"What's going on? It's rather late for you all to be out?" Akane asked as he and Clay came up behind Anya and Tsugumi.

"Akane! And Clay!" Tsugumi said confused.

"What are you two doing here?" Anya asked crossing her arms as if to say that she had every right to be up and shouldn't have to explain herself.

"Professor Sid called us in." Akane said smiling down at the younger Meister and Weapon. "We're helping him with some late-night overtime."

"At this hour?" Anya asked suspiciously. Meme dropped the book she was holding and started to give a loud yawn. But as she stretched out she lost her balance. She screamed as she started falling from the second floor railing and down towards the table below her. Her head was on a collision course with the edge of the table.

Noticing this Danny rushed forward, quickly shoving the table out of the way with a burst of his soul wave, he caught the girl before she could hit the ground.

"Pha... Phantom?" Meme said confused as she looked around.

"Good morning sleeping beauty." Danny joked as he helped her to her feet.

"Meme, are you ok?" Anya asked but the others were to busy looking at Danny.

"What are you doing here, Phantom?" Clay asked frowning at the younger student.

"To do research on Shaula, whether Central Intelligence wants me to or not." Danny said flashing the notes he had been taking. Clay glared at the underclassman.

"Where are we?" Meme asked as she tried to get her bearings. "What's going on?"

"Tatane, are you ok?" Akane asked the sleep walking meister. He didn't seem all that surprised to see Danny in the room, even if he wondered how he got in when it was locked and Danny didn't seem to have a key.

"Yes." Meme said as she checked herself. But when she make eye contact with Tsugumi, the weapon adverted her eyes. Danny didn't understand what was going on there, but it didn't seem like it was his business.

"I hate to ask this..." Akane said looking to Danny and Meme. "But would you two come with me so I can report this to Professor Sid?"

"Miss Meme was just walking in her sleep..." Anya started to abject but Meme cut her off.

"Alright." She said accepting what was happening.

"Suppose that's what happens when you get caught." Danny said rubbing the back of his head. "Can I still keep all my notes?" Clay glared. "Didn't think so." Danny sighed.

"Clay, can you take Tsugumi and Anya back to their dorm? I'll take Meme and Phantom to Sid." Akane said and his partner nodded before leading the two girl out.

* * *

The next day Tsugumi and Anya found out that Meme was being held as a suspect for stealing information for a witch. Danny was also being held on the grounds of equality, though that it was really because they wanted to use him as bait to lure out Shaula, since they knew he was an object of the witch's attention.

Tsugumi and Anya had also been told that Meme was probably not in control of her action all the time and that her sleep walking and tendency to forget were the result of a hypnosis placed on her by Shaula. Tsugumi felt terrible because she had yell at Meme for her thoughtlessness whenever she forgot things that were important to other people. But it was not something that she could have controlled.

"I'm sorry, Meme." Tsugumi said to a pumpkin carved in the ditzy girls likeness.

"What are you doing? That's not Meme." Anya said scolding Tsugumi.

"But..." Tsugumi said sniffling. A extremely heavy knock came from the door startling the two inhabitance.

"Tsugumi! Anya! I know you two are in there, I can sense your souls! Now stop moping and upon up!" Sam shouted from the hall. After a moment when the door didn't open. "My hand is a spade!? Do you want me to break the door down!?"

Anya ran to the door and quickly opened it to show a casually dressed Sam with a spade hand. "About time you answered."

"Wh... what is the matter with you. You don't have to be so vulgar." Anya said indignantly.

Sam walked in straight passed the royal meister. "No, what is wrong with you two, princess." Sam said angrily. "I had to find out what happened last night from Black Star. From Black Star! Seriously, you didn't think to tell me that Danny and Meme were taken into DWMA custody?"

"Oh... I'm sorry." Tsugumi said but Sam put up a hand to stop her.

"Save it. I'm not here for anything like that. I'm here to make sure you two aren't being stupid. And considering the tears on your faces I'm guessing you are." Sam said then her harsh voice got a lot softer and more motherly even though the other girls were the same age as her. "You don't need to worry. Sid is a good man. He isn't going to punish Meme for anything she couldn't control."

"Than what is going on right now, huh?" Anya demanded, angry at being called stupid.

"Meme is under a witch's hypnosis. Don't you remember what happened to Eternal Feather?" Sam said looking at the two. "He wants to keep a close eye on her to protect her until she is safe." Then Sam's cocky attitude came back. "Of course he wants to do the same thing for Danny, since Danny has gotten the witch's attention. But that's stupid. No one can control Danny but me. It's a proven fact. Many a crazy fruit-loop as tried." Sam walked back to the door to exit since she had given the two cents she had wanted to. "Cheer up. If you really want to say your sorry or worried or something then just write a letter and have Sid give it to her, or prepare a party for when she's in the clear. Doctor Stein is working on an antidote for the hypnotic drug, so it shouldn't be too long." And with that Sam was gone leaving the two girls in a very different state then before. Mostly confused as if a tropical storm came in and left and they didn't understand why.

* * *

It was too easy. Controlling humans to make them do what she wanted. Especially the children. Shaula had been doing it for over eight hundred years and even if the level of control was greatly increased by her drugs, she didn't need them to make people do small things. Such as break her favorite spy out of DWMA custody for her.

All she had to do was send one of her messenger bats to the poor girl's friends telling them her location and how scared she was and they jumped to go and save her. They were to stupid to realize that Meme wouldn't have been able to use the messenger bats herself while in DWMA custody.

She was fairly certain that the moment her chosen one realized that his little friend was in danger that he would not hesitate to come to her rescue, no matter what the officers of the DWMA did to stop him. Even though she had not planned for her spy to get captured, it would still all play right into her hands.

* * *

Danny was bored. After wishing for months that he could just lay back and relax he found that the moment he was forced to do so he had to much on his mind to enjoy it. He had to find Shaula before anything happened, but he couldn't just storm off out of DWMA custody and make a huge scene. He didn't really know what to do.

He looked over at his door. Unlike Meme's door they didn't even bother locking it. After all, he could just as easily blast his way through the wall as walk out the door. It was not a threat to his mortality but a threat to his future that was keeping him locked up.

But all those things drained out of his mind when he heard what sounded like struggle in the hallway followed by a window crashing and a familiar scream. It was Tsugumi's.

Danny got up and ran to the door pulling it open. "What's going on?" He asked immediately before he realized that he was looking down at four DWMA agents with Anya sprawled out on top of them as if she had been thrown.

"We... we came to rescue Meme." Anya said holding her stomach as if she had been hit hard as was trying to regain control of her stomach muscles. "But Sid was right... the witch took control of her and... she took Tsugumi." Anya said looking towards a broken window.

Danny's eyes widened. Two of his friends lives were now in danger. Before anyone could try to stop him he ran and jumped through the already broken window effertlessly landing on the ground two stories below. He saw Tsugumi in weapon form stuck up in a tree and jumped up to pull her out. After getting to the ground Tsugumi returned to human from.

"I'm... I'm..." Tsugumi stermered.

"No time, Where did they go?" Danny asked a little relieved that one of his friends was safe, but Meme was still in danger. Tsugumi pointed towards Death Plaza and Danny was off at a speed that Tsugumi had never seen from him before. Danny was using every last drop of his ghost powers that he could maintain in his human from. "I'm coming Meme, so don't die on me."

* * *

Sid had taken Shaula's bait and followed her back to Death Plaza were she stopped running. In the middle of the plaza was a miniature replica of the statue of liberty. Shaula thought it was a fitting place for her to finally take control of the piece that would secure freedom for all witches.

"Not bad, Professor." Shaula teased. Sid stood in front of her prepared for battle.

"Aren't you going to release your soul protect and use your magic?" Sid asked wondering why the witch had not done so already.

"There is no need for me to do that." Shaula laughed.

Sid was confused but with all his attention on the witch he didn't see the hypnotized Meme coming up from behind him. He gave a gasp of pain as Meme drove an arrow into his back. Sid turned and back handed his attacker only to find that it was his own student. "Oh no!" He said as he realized who he had just hurt. But in the time that he had been distracted by guilt and pain Shaula wrapped her stinger like hair around his neck and injected him with her venom.

"You should be proud. You have very strong students, Mr. Professor." Shaula said. Sid was unable to control his body but he was still fighting off the hypnosis. "Tell me, Mr. Three Star Meister, how many of my sisters have you killed." Shaula said, her voice full of rage. Sid was unable to answer with her chocking him and the venom coursing through him. "You can't even remember can you? Do our lives mean so little to you?" Shaula asked her voice cold as ice. She released her hair and Sid fell to his knees. "You wish to be with you master... then let me give him to you."

With as much magic as she could muster without breaking her soul protect she tore the statue of liberty out of the ground with a loud crack, and drove it into Sid's forehead.

* * *

"Will you just shut up Black Star." Sam said angrily. Black Star had been annoying her for the last hour.

"Why shouldn't we!? It would be a piece of cake to bust Phantom out!" Black Star said crossing his arms over his chest.

"But Danny doesn't need us to break him out." Sam snapped. "He can take care of himself."

"Sam's right Black Star, I don't think anything bad would happen with Professor Sid on guard..." Tsubaki said but just as she finished they could hear a large crash coming from Death Plaza.

"Tsubaki... I think you jinxed us." Sam said sighing.

"Alright! Let's go then!" Black Star shouted running off towards Death Plaza. Sam and Tsubaki trailed after him. Sam wouldn't admit it, but she felt like something was going to go horribly wrong.

* * *

Danny arrived at Death Plaza to find Sid laying on the steps in the middle of the plaza with the torch from the miniature Statue of Liberty stuck through his skill. A large pool of blood had formed beneath him.

Danny felt sick as he saw Meme kneeling before the dead body of their teacher writing on the ground using his blood. "Done." Meme said in her usual ditzy voice. As she turned to him he could see a Scorpio mark inside of her right eye. Written on the ground were the words, 'No one will sleep tonight!'

"Why...?" Danny murmured before shouting. "Why!? Why would you do this, Shaula!? How is this supposed to stop all the killing!?"

Meme's voice changed to Shaula's. "Do you know how many of my sisters this man has killed. And then he teaches children to do the same." Shaula said looking at Danny with a smile on her face. Blood was dripping down her forehead from a head injury.

"How does that make this right?" Danny shouted angrily.

"Do you not understand. The only way to protect my sisters is the stop the ones that would cause them harm." Shaula said looking back at Sid's dead body. "Though I will admit that this method is not ideal. It is necessary."

"Phantom!? Meme!?" Anya and Tsugumi arrived at the Plaza. Akane and Clay came a half second later.

"Stay back!" Danny shouted causing them all to halt.

"None of this will end it, Phantom. This will only slow down the witch hunts. In order for them to end, for us to have true peace, I need you." Shaula said through Meme's body. The observers were shocked. "Join me Phantom. Together we will bring an end to Death's rule. Death is the one who has always determined good and evil. With him gone, our kinds will be free from all this pointless fighting. We could bring an end to all the world's madness. But I need your power to do it. Won't you join me Phantom?" She said extending a bloodied hand out to Danny.

"Shaula..." Danny said looking down so that his bangs covered his eyes. "I will stop you."

A look of absolute hurt went through Meme's eyes. But then she took looked void of emotion. "I'm sorry you feel that way." Danny heard but it wasn't coming from Meme.

"Danny, behind you!" Sam shouted having entered the plaza with Black Star and Tsubaki. A wave of pain rushed through Danny's side as a thick needle was driven into him.

He staggered around and turned to see an older girl. She looked around seventeen with a long braid in all the shades of pink, purple and blue. Her eyes were like pink and blue yin yang symbols and she wore a black private school uniform with a Scorpio sign over her chest. She dropped a veil to the ground that once contained a red liquid.

"You were promised to me over eight hundred years ago by Fate himself." Shaula said her voice seemed like honey in Danny's ears. "I don't care if I have to sacrifice my mind, body and soul, you will be mine." She said as she reached out and pulled him into her. Meme walked up next to her.

"Danny!" Sam shouted desperately running toward them.

"Meme!" Tsugumi and Anya shouted.

There was a blinding flash of light, and the group was gone. Sam found herself standing over the message that had been written in her teacher's blood. 'No one will sleep tonight.' She could hardly hear the cries of rage that were coming from Black Star. She was to numb. The witch had taken her partner.

* * *

Back at her hide out Meme's head injury was being seen to by one of the other Traitors. Danny was in the back with Shaula. She had rested his head against her breast and whispered her strongest hypnotic spells into his ears.

"You have joined me, my chosen one. You will help me deliver this world from those who had ruled it." Shaula said her voice full of love. And yes, it was love. The reason that she had kept her youngest appearance for all those years was so that she could still be young enough for the boy from her vision when the time had finally arrived. "Please show me your true form. Show me your power."

Danny nodded and the blinding white lights appeared around his waist. The power that radiated from him was intense beyond words. It was just as Shaula had always hoped. His white hair rested gently against her. One of his eyes was the same pink and blue yin yang sign as her's, but the other was his own deep green only without any pupil. "Wonderful." She whispered. Danny's giant green soul was kept hidden by her special room. In the center of the soul was a thin red thread and surrounding it was a pink scorpion tail.

"Rest now, my chosen one. Tomorrow is when it will all end, and all began a new." Shaula said. She new that he was completely under her control. She had used a hundred times the usual dose of mind control venom and had infected him with a Kishin egg to weaken his soul's resistance by distracting it with something else to fight. All to make sure that the kind hearted boy would be ready to finish off the evil Lord Death.

"Yes... my lady." Danny said calmly causing Shaula to shiver with pleasure. But she didn't notice when his green eye momentarily flashed a deadly red.

* * *

Sam felt numb as she sat in Doctor Stein's hospital with Anya and Tsugumi. She just couldn't believe that Sid was dead and that Danny was gone. 'If we just found her before it went this far.' Sam couldn't help but think that it had all been her fault. If she had only agreed with Black Star and gone to bust Danny out.

Black Star had ran off in a fit of rage after what had happened to Sid and Tsubaki had gone after him. She couldn't blame the hyperactive ninja boy. From what she new about his past it seemed Sid had been like a father to him. Just like Danny was like a brother to her.

The door to the operating room opened up. Tsugumi and Anya looked up to see Akane and Clay walk out. "How is he?" Anya asked.

"He was impaled through the forehead and drained of his blood. How do you think he is?" Sam hissed. Akane and Clay looked away trying not to make eye contact with the two NOT class students who cried a little. Sam didn't want to be cruel, but she could stand it. She had told them to think, to trust in Sid, and because of there stupid actions their teacher was clearly dead. "I'm going home." Sam said getting up and walking out. She couldn't think clearly anymore.

She could just hear Akane and Clay telling Anya that she was going to be sent back to her home country. They couldn't afford to protect a spoiled little princess anymore. And it was true; that night, Sam couldn't sleep.


	14. Halloween, the Guardian's unvealing?

I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.

* * *

Sam had been up the whole night. Her thoughts were flying in circles from worry. 'Danny, please comeback. Please be safe.' She kept saying to herself over and over again. Whenever the doorbell rang in the morning Sam nearly pulled the door of its hinges hoping that it was somehow Danny.

But standing there was Black Star with his usual grin and a large box in his arms. Sam was about to scream at him for looking so happy after everything that happened, but she could see the red rimming his eyes, proof that he had been crying recently. Tsubaki stood behind him looking a lot more solemn.

"Hey you crazy weapon. Happy birthday." He said trying to put his usual heart into his voice but falling a little short.

Sam didn't say anything. She had forgot that it was her birthday. It seemed like another sick joke that the universe was having on her. She wondered if this was how if felt to be Danny, with the world having it's sick jokes at every turn.

"Hey, cheer up." Black Star said pushing out his chest. "You're in the presence of the great Black Star. You aren't allowed to have a face like that." He said laughing a bit. But his face turned serious. "We're going to find Phantom, and will take out that stupid witch that took Sid from us too. You'll see. Tsubaki and I will make everything right!" He finished with a lot more of his usual bravado.

Sam actually smiled a little. "Thanks... Black Star." She murmured.

"Wow, your thanking me? You sure you're feeling alright crazy weapon." Black Star joked. Then he pushed out the box. "Here, Phantom had been coming over to our room for a week working on this for your birthday. He probably spent his whole allowance for the month on it." Black Star said then turned away. "I would stay and force you to eat a cake whether you want it or not, but I've got other things to do right now! So take care, you crazy weapon!"

Tsubaki lingered after Black Star went away. "He's really worried about you." She said as she watcher her meister walk off.

"Yeah... I know." Sam said holding the box close to herself. "You stay close to him. The only thing that stops me from worrying about the squirt is the fact that your with him." Sam said trying her best to smile. Tsubaki nodded and went after her meister.

Sam went back inside and stared at the box with Danny's gift to her for a good thirty minutes before finally deciding to open it up. She found a inside the box a dozen different types of ecto weapons and a jumpsuit, just like the one she had worn during the Pirate Ratio fiasco, only this one was dark purple instead of orange and had a ghostly 'S' on the chest. Finally there was a card addressed to her.

'Dear Sam,

You were never the one to like being stuck on the side lines or feeling helpless, so I made you these. You'd hardly believe how hard it was, I wonder how my dad makes it look so easy.

I hope this helps remind you of the good old days back when it was just you, me, Tucker and Jazz shoveling the Box Ghost back into the Fenton Thermos and telling Vlad that he needed to get a cat.

You were always the reliable one that would bail me and Tucker out when things went wrong, which was all the time. And you know that I still depend on you.

Well here's to praying that Black Star was wrong and that the first thing you will did is not hunt me down for the jumpsuit.

Always your partner, Danny Phantom.'

Sam chocked down on her tears. She realized how stupid she was acting. Since when was Sam Manson helpless without Danny? She grabbed the jumpsuit and weapons and got ready to go hunt down her best friend. It was a good thing there was an all day Halloween celebration.

* * *

Mira Nygus was on the verge of breaking down. Her partner was dead, and she had been left in charge. On one side of her was Stein telling her that they were about to have a catastrophe and that she should try to evacuate the city and implement martial law. And on the other side were the bureaucrats that said she couldn't do such a thing without clear evidence that the system that was in place was not enough.

Security was rendered impossible by an giant city wide Halloween Festival and open house, with costumes and everything. All of the EAT class students were going to be gathered together for a tournament and Spirit was given the day off to watch his daughter, leaving Death without a Deathscythe.

It was all bad even without the witch that they believed had hypnotized a large number of the civilians in the city, accessed all of there personal files, and the abduction of Phantom Moon. Add the fact that Doctor Stein believed that Phantom had been injected with a hypnotic drug that was modified using a Kishin egg that could potential turn him into a category four pre-kishin and everything became hell.

"It's the perfect storm." Nygus muttered to herself starting to tear up. They were trying to create an antidote for the hypnotoxin, but they didn't have much time, or a subject to test it on. Even Stein wasn't a miracle worker. And even if he successed it wouldn't save Phantom. They would have to kill the boy. The knowledge of that was making Nygus even more ill. "I need you Sid." Nygus said looking to a picture on her desk of herself with her old partner, Black Star in the background trying to get in on the picture without anyone noticing. "I just can't do this alone."

"Mira!" The loud shout snapped the grieving woman out of her thoughts. Standing in the middle of her office was Black Star giving her one of his famous grins.

Nygus blinked before scowling at the little ninja. "Black Star you aren't allowed..." She started but Black Star pulled her into a hug.

"Mira... cheer up. You now Sid wouldn't want us to mop around." Black Star said more than a little sad. "He'd be going on about how he's not the kind of man who would let something stop him from getting the job done, and then he'd go off to do something or other." Black Star said grinning. "And... you don't have to worry. I'm here. And I'll keep you safe. So cheer up, Mira... please." Black Star said trying to keep the tears out of his own eyes as he looked up at his adoptive mother figure.

Nygus couldn't help but to smile down at the boy's face. She and Sid had raised him well, even if he had his quirks. "Thank you Black Star, but I need to get to work." She said sternly even if the expression on her face didn't match the voice. "And my name is Professor Nygus to you. Now go to your Halloween tournament and leave me be."

Black Star grinned wide. "Sure thing Mom!" He shouted and bolted out the door before Nygus could do anything.

"Oh that boy..." Nygus said before focusing on her work. Black Star was right. Sid had never been the kind of man who would have let personal feelings stop him from doing what's right.

* * *

All of the EAT class students and most of the instructors had gathered in Death Square to compete in there little tournament and Shaula was in the roof of the bell tower with Meme and Phantom. Everything was going to come to an end. Her eight hundred years of living in fear of Death was going to come to an end.

Her plan was simple. She had equip all of her men with the same finger nails that her first Traitors had used and coated them with a modified version of her hypnotoxin. It would render the victim impassive until she could change their memories. After Phantom had destroyed Death, she would simply rewrite the DWMA's memories so that they would work for the witches and protect them. Since even with Death gone, the prekishins would still walk the earth, and they would need to be dealt with for everyones sake. The witches' great enemies would become there protectors.

She had scattered her hypnotized civilians throughout the city to attack the dorm and school to infect any of the NOT class students or any EAT class that might not be at the event. But she would send Phantom alone to fight against the EAT class students and instructors. It would be a show of his power that would force Death to come out of hiding. And she had intelligence that said that the only Deathscythe in Death City would be there. If she took him out before the main battle, then Phantom's victory would be all but assured.

"Are you ready, my Guardian?" Shaula asked her chosen one. Guardian, it was the name she decided on for him. Phantom didn't seem proper for him. He was not going to be unseen, he was going to be the face of her revolution. So he need a name to match.

"Yes, my lady." Guardian said. He had one of her stinger arms that could just be seen under the black cloak that she decided to use for his great unveiling.

"Then go, but remember to not let them see you until I give the word. Don't want to ruin the performance." Shaula said chuckling. Guardian nodded and disappeared from sight. "Now for the great unveiling." Shaula said lifting up her hands and with so little amount of magic as to be undetectable she created windows in the air from which she could see the whole city. "Show time."

* * *

"Black Star!" Maka called as she ran up to her friend with Soul, Estelle and Repede following close behind.

"Oh, hey guys." Black Star said grinning trying not to let all his worries show. "Nice to see you all didn't chicken out of the tournament just because you knew Tsubaki and I were going to be here." He said in his usual pig headed manner.

Maka sighed. "Told you we didn't have to worry about Black Star, he bounces back quickly." Soul said shrugging ticking off Maka.

"You should be more concerned about your friends Soul." Maka said angrily.

"Maybe, but threating about things that we can't help just isn't cool." Soul said earning him a Maka Chop.

"Maybe Black Star is alright, but what about Sam, and Kim. Both of them have been worried sick about Phantom. And Anya's been forced to leave, and Meme has also been kidnapped. What about Tsugumi?" Estelle said sadly. Repede gave his own short whimpers.

"Anya, Meme, Tsugumi? Who are they?" Black Star asked earning himself a Maka Chop as well.

"Black Star!" Tsubaki said and looked over Black Star's new injury like the threating mother that she is.

"Hey, it looks like they are starting." Someone in the crowd said.

The group looked up to see Spirit walking out onto the stage to give an introduction. "Oh no, not papa." Maka groaned looking at the ground. "Please someone stop him before he does something embarrassing." Maka begged.

And Maka's prayers were answer, but not in a good way. As Spirit opened his mouth to speak a strange laugh filled the air. Spirit stumbled back as a magic circle appeared on the ground next to him and the image of a young girl appeared.

"It's her..." Black Star growled getting the others attention. "She was the one... that we saw take Phantom. She's the one that killed Sid!" Black Star rushed the stage faster than anyone could stop him. He jumped into the air and flew at the witch. "You bitch!"

But his fist just passed straight through her and Black Star tumbled to the ground. Shaula's image chuckled. "That is the kind of welcome I had been expecting from the DWMA. But you could at least let me give my name first. I am Shaula Gorgon. And as your friend has been so nice to demonstrate, I am not actually here right now."

Murmurs of 'witch' ran though the gathered students. "I see that you violent little children have decided to spend this day which is sacred for us witches beating each others heads in. So I thought that I would help you to that end." A small man in a black cloak appeared next to the witch's image. "Here will be your opponent. Meet, Guardian. He will be defeating all of you today."

"What the hell is this about?" Spirit said angrily as he walked up to the intruders.

"Oh, I see we have our first volunteer." Shaula giggled.

"You shouldn't underestimate a Deathscythe!" Spirit shouted and a blade appeared out of his right arm and he swung it at Guardian. But the whole crowd was shocked when Guardian blocked the blade with a single finger that was wrapped in metal to look like a stinger with a bit of poison dripping out.

"Do it." Shaula ordered and Guardian's arm shot out and stung Spirit in the neck. The Deathscythe's eyes widened and then he fell to the ground.

"Papa!" Maka shouted, she didn't like her dad, but she didn't want him dead.

"He isn't dead. The toxin will only render him asleep for now. But should you all lose, then your memories of the DWMA and your despicable Lord Death will disappear." Shaula said most of the students were preparing for battle by then. "I'm sorry, I believe I forgot to release my Guardian's Soul Protect so that you can see what you're up against. Let me show you." Shaula snapped her fingers.

A soul like nothing the students, or even the faculty, had ever seen before expanded out of the black cloak which was thrown to the side by the wind the soul produced. The soul was gigantic, quickly expanding outside of the bounds of Death Square and continuing to grow. It was dark green with a steam of red in the middle and wrapped round the outside of it was a pink and blue scorpion tail. Even those with no soul perception could see its power as a visible force that wrapped around his body.

The Guardian himself looked like a young boy with snow white hair. He was dressed in loss black jeans and white shirt with a black sleeveless jacket over it. On the back of the jacket was the Scorpio symbol. His right eye was a pink and blue yin yang sign and his left eye was a dark green with no pupil.

"Go on Guardian. Enlighten them." Shaula said grinning. Guardian flew forward, and the carnage begin.

* * *

Kim had just let Tsugumi go after Anya and Meme. She didn't care if she had been told to keep watch over her. It didn't matter. All she could think about was whether all of this would have happened if she had used her magic to help Phantom find Shaula in the first place. She had been so afraid of being discovered as a witch that she hadn't given it her all.

"Kim... Kim, please talk to me." Jackie said trying to pull her partner out of her funk. "Please Kim. I'm your partner. Let me know what's wrong." She said tearing up.

"Phantom." Kim whispered before tearing up herself. "He was my first friend. The first person who really understood me and let me be who I really am. He was the first person to trust me. I... I think I was in love with him." Kim admitted through her tears.

"Then how about we get him back?" Kim and Jackie looked up surprised out of there little world to find Sam standing there in her ghost hunter's jumpsuit with a rifle flung over one of her shoulders. "Because I don't know about you, but I'm tired of moping. It's time we take back our friend."

Kim and Sam each felt a giant soul form in the middle of the city. All doubts and questions left Kim's mind and she got up and followed Sam out, Jackie right behind them.

* * *

Shaula was extremely pleased as she watched her ultimate weapon tearing through the ranks of the DWMA's most elite fighters. The massive power and flexibility of the Ghostboy's soul coupled with the focus created by shutting down the parts of his brain that were unnecessary for battle had created the perfect fighter. Her key to destroying Death once and for all.

"Wonderful, simply wonderful!" She said laughing to the heavens. Everything she had been working towards for all those years was finally coming to fruition. "By the end of the Halloween Festival, the witches will have a new reason to celebrate!"

But Shaula was distracted when one of her massager bats started to flutter around her head. "Meme!" Shaula heard someone shout and looked to see the spoiled princess riding on top of a flying halberd with little pink wings, heading straight for them. "Meme!" Anya shouted.

She reached the top of the church beneath Shaula's clock tower lookout where they had a not so graceful landing before Tsugumi returned to her human form. "Meme, we're here to rescue you!" Tsugumi shouted, but Meme was too far under hypnosis to hear them. They had gotten an experimental antidote from Doctor Stein and were hoping to cure their friend.

"Please tell me this is a joke?" Shaula said looking down at the two children with surprise on her face. "You two? You two are the ones that found me?" She started to laugh her insane laugh. "You two are hardly elite fighters, and yet you come to challenge a powerful witch only! Are you simply stupid!?" The two of them looked a little afraid.

But Shaula just turned away from them and back to her screens to watch her Guardian take down a small squad of intelligence officers. The number of DWMA members left around him was dwindling. "But I suppose that I should make my entrance before everything is finished." She started to jump away going from roof to roof. "Take care of those two, my Meme!" She shouted as she left them behind.

Meme turned to the intruders with a dead look in her eyes. "Kill them... kill them... kill them..." She kept saying and then the battle between friends started.

* * *

"Get... get back!" Ox shouted as Guardian walked towards him. He swung his spear but Guardian grabbed it in mid swing as if he was stopping a pillow. "No... No... Royal Thunder!" Electricity surged through Guardian but the monster didn't even react. He swung the arm which had the poisoned nail on it. The arm seemed to grow longer until it struck Ox in the neck and he fell down unconscious.

"Ox!" Black Star shouted and took a swing at Guardian with his scythes and chains Tsubaki. Guardian lend back and dodged by a mere inch before grabbing Black Star's leg. But just like each other time he tossed the hyperactive ninja away. "Damn, I thought I had him that time." Black Star said.

"Black Star you need to remember the assassins rules. Silence, disappear into the darkness and erase your breath. If you keep shouting then we won't be able to get a clean shot." Tsubaki said to her partner.

"Sorry Tsubaki, but it's kind of hard to disappear into the darkness in the middle of the open at high noon. Not to mention when you are as big of a star as I am." Black Star said with his normal bravado.

"You need to focus Black Star. This isn't your average opponent." Maka said standing next to the ninja with her scythe partner at the ready. "I've never seen a soul like this before."

"What does something like that matter? I'm going to surpass god, this guy is nothing special." Black Star said angrily.

Repede ran up next to him and growled. "Repede is right, we're the only ones left." Estelle translated. And she was right. only Black Star, Repede and Maka remained out of all the meisters that had been there.

"Yeah, but it's not because of skill, or even dumb luck. For some reason he hasn't been targeting us, or finishing us off whenever he stops our attacks." Soul observed.

"So you're saying he's been just messing with us? But why us?" Estelle asked.

"Don't know, but just look at him. Now that everyone else is down for the count he's just stopped." Soul said. And he was right. Guardian was only standing there not looking at them or anything. Just waiting.

"He's underestimating us." Maka said lowering her stance. "Lets show him what he's up against."

"Right." Soul agreed.

"Lets go, Soul Resonance!" Maka and Soul shouted together. Maka lifted Soul up behind her, his blade became covered in light and extending out in both directions until it looked like a crescent moon. "Legendary Super Skill of the Scythe Meister, Witch Hunter!"

Maka run as fast as she could, closing the distances between herself and Guardian. "Your soul is ours!" Maka shouted as she swing Soul and cut Guardian in half at the waist. A wide tear appeared in the ground behind him as if the pressure of the attack was enough to cut through stone.

"They did it!" Tsubaki said. But Repede just continued to growl. Wisps of energy came out of both halves of Guardian and reconnected pulling him back together as if the attack never happened. He then grabbed Maka and threw her back towards the group again, where Black Star caught her.

"Wh... what the hell was that!?" Soul shouted confused.

"He just pulled himself back together after you cut him." Estelle said fear showing in her voice.

"That's not what happened." Maka said as she tried to pull herself up. "He split himself in half and just let our attack go by. We didn't even hit him."

"What the hell is this guy?" Black Star said standing in between the group and Guardian in case the creature decided to attack.

"I... I think I know." Maka said. "I've never seen one, but I read a few books about them. I think that he's... I think he's a Ghost."

Eyes widened. "So this is the kind of thing that Phantom had to fight before he and that crazy weapon of his came to the Academy." Black Star said angrily.

"I can see why he didn't like to talk about them." Estelle said. Repede growled. "I know. I feel like I've seen him somewhere too."

"Did your books ever tell you how to fight them?" Soul asked his partner.

"It said that the only way to get a solid hit off would be to take them by surprise. Other than that the information was alway stupid and no one could ever agree one what worked. Some said to you magnets or salt but others said that it wouldn't work." Maka said as she started to recover from the last hit. "I wish I had asked Sam and Phantom how to deal with them."

"That must be why the witch waited until Phantom was out of the picture before attacking." Soul reasoned. "He would have known how to stop it."

"But if Phantom had done it in the past then that means it can be done." Black Star said grinning. "So it should be a piece of cake for a guy like me."

Laughter filled the air and Shaula dropped down from a roof top behind them. "My Guardian is far more than just an ordinary ghost. Do you think that a normal ghost would be powerful enough to defeat the entire DWMA?" Shaula said laughing her face twisted in pleasure. "My Guardian is not just some ghost. No one can defeat him. Not even Death."

"You plan on beating Death huh, that seems a little argent. But even if you can beat Death, there is no way you could defeat me!" Black Star shouted. "I'll make you pay for what you did to Sid!"

Black Star ran forward and tried to attack the witch, but Guardian intercepted the attack, blocking it with his single nailed finger. Grabbing Black Star's leg his punched him in the stomach before throwing him aside again.

"Black Star!" Estelle shouted worried about her friend.

But Shaula frowned. "Why did you not inject him, Guardian?"

"I... am sorry... my lady." Guardian said trembling a little.

"Do not apologize. Just infect these children so we can move on to finding Death." Shaula said angrily.

"Yes... my lady." Guardian choked before he started to walk towards Maka and Repede. Maka was starting to tremble as the fear she had been keeping at bay started to take control of her.

"There is no way... there is no way we can win." She said horrified.

"Maka, what are you talking about!?" Soul shouted but then Guardian simply disappeared into thin air, only to reappear a second later straight in front of the young meister. Maka screamed and tried to swing Soul around but the scythe was blocked with ease. Guardian reached out and injected the girl with the hypnotoxins. The next moment Maka was on the ground unconscious.

"Maka!" Estelle shouted. Repede growled.

"Oh, a monster dog." Shaula said in surprise. "Well, my venom was not designed to work on his kind. Guardian, kill him." She said in an off hand manner.

Repede growled and tried to attack Guardian, but Guardian shifted his weight and the monster dog went flying passed him. Then Guardian hit Repede on the back sending him to the ground.

"Repede, no!" Estelle shouted as the point came down towards Repede's head. But Guardian stopped two inches before his finger would have been driven into the dog's brain.

Everyone was surprised as Guardian's arm began to tremble. "Re...pede." He said in a shaky voice. "Run."

"Tsubaki, Smoke Bomb mode!" Black Star shouted. The ninja smoke bomb went off and concealed both Repede and Guardian from sight.

After the smoke cleared, Guardian was standing alone and Repede had been moved away from him. Black Star was standing in between them and was holding a dagger silently watching Guardian's moves.

'Why, why did he stop?' Was the question on everyone's mind. Shaula couldn't understand. She was using the most powerful mind control magic she could use without releasing her soul protect. And yet the boy was resisting her. She was shaking with sadness and anger. "Why?" She asked. "Why do you still resist me? You were always destined to be mine. So why!?"

"What... what is she talking about?" Estelle said confused.

"Who cares!" The voice startled Guardian. It was Black Star's, but it wasn't coming from the Black Star he could see standing in front of him. "Black Star, Big Soul Wave!" The attack impacted Guardian's back and the energy rushed through him throwing him forward and causing him to roll across the ground as the shock of the soul wave rushed through him.

The Black Star that had been in front of him disappeared and Tsubaki was standing in it's place. "That was our Dumby Star technique." She said proudly.

"And now you see why I, Black Star, will be the one to surpass god!" Black Star shouted.

Shaula glared. "You are a fool if you think that little attack would be enough to defeat my Guardian. End this Guardian!" She shouted. Guardian stood up, his white hair covering his face. Tsubaki returned to her dagger form and Black Star got ready to fight.

Guardian lowered himself into a stance with his left arm held out wide, his hand was shaped as if there should have been a weapon in it. "Kill... kill... kill..." He was saying over and over again, but he didn't move.

"Black Star... that stance." Tsubaki said.

"I don't believe it..." Black Star said after realizing what Tsubaki meant.

"Kill... kill... kill..." Guardian kept repeating then he stopped and looked up so that they could see past his white bangs. His one green eye had a trail of tears coming down from it. "Black Star... Kill me."


	15. The Battle Begins, the unlikely heroes?

**I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.**

* * *

"Kill... kill... kill..." Guardian kept repeating then he stopped and looked up so that they could see past his white bangs. His one green eye had a trail of tears coming down from it. "Black Star... Kill me."

Black Star and Repede stood there stunned. "Phantom?" Estelle's voice rang out from her short sword form in Repede's mouth.

"Oh my god... what did that witch do to you?" Tsubaki added horrified.

"Dammit... dammit." It was all Black Star could think to say. How could he have not noticed? Sure he wasn't the most perceptive of people, but it should have been obvious. Turn the white hair black and change some of the clothes around. And suddenly Guardian was his own friend and student, Phantom.

"Wonderful isn't he?" Shaula said lighting down next to Phantom. "The powerful soul of a Ghost, fueled by the mind and body of a man and amplified by the magic of a witch." She said while running her fingers through the boy's hair. "But perhaps his soul is a little too strong. He keeps resisting my orders to finish you." Shaula brought Phantom's face up next to her own. "I will just need to use stronger magic. Soul protect release." The Witch's soul pushed out of her body. It was the size of a small house but still small in compared to Phantom's town sized soul.

Then Shaula did something that shocked the kids even more. She kissed Phantom long and they could see she was using a lot of tongue. "What the hell!?" Black Star shouted running forward. "Get your lips off of our friend!"

Phantom's hand jumped up and a flash of green light shot forth and Black Star barely had enough time to guard before the energy blast sent him flying backwards into a parked car which collapsed under the force of the blow.

"Black Star, are you ok?" Tsubaki asked as Black Star pulled himself out of the dabre.

"Who do you think... you're talking to?" Black Star joked, but he was a little shaky as he stood tall. "There is no time for us to worry about something as small as that little hit. We got to get Phantom away from the evil witch."

Shaula pulled her head back and smiled. "I'm afraid it is too late. I had just completed my most powerful mind control spell." She moved back to give Phantom room. If any of the remaining DWMA students could see souls, they would have noticed several pink and purple magic circles appeared around Phantom's soul. The small stream of red becoming much much bigger. "Now my Guardian. Infect the boy and then kill the dog."

"Yes, my lady." Phantom said this time without hesitation. Black Star was still a little shaky from being thrown into the car and Phantom took him off guard. He was rushed and Phantom easily pressed through his attempts to put up a guard. The toxins in the nail were injected into his blood stream through his neck.

"Black Star!" Estelle shouted in horror as her meister fell to the ground.

"Much better, now kill the monster." Shaula ordered. Phantom turned and started to take a step towards Repede who backed way, but then he stopped. "What?" Shaula said shocked. Black Star had grabbed onto Phantom's leg.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Phantom?" Black Star said looking up and gritting his teeth, there was a thin line of blood coming from his neck. "You should know better than to think you can beat me that easily!" Black Star shouted and sent a powerful Soul Wave through Phantom's leg and the Ghostboy's body began to shake. Then Black Star jumped to his feet and punched Phantom hard in the stomach sending him to the ground.

"Impossible! How can you resist my hypnotoxin!?" Shaula spat angrily.

"That should be obvious." Black Star said glaring at the witch. "I'm Black Star. And no one can control me." The pupils in his green eyes had turned into yellow stars. "So bow down before me as your god. And I might spare your life."

"Black Star." Estelle and Tsubaki said with relief.

"Black... Star..." Phantom said as he got back to his feet. "Keep... it up."

Shaula's eyes widened and then she began to tremble with rage. "Black... Star..." She said looking at the ninja who was smirking at her. "Of course. You are the survivor of the Star Clan, aren't you? The sporadic nature of your Demon Wave Length counteracts my hypnosis. You're the reason that my Guardian is resisting me."

"So in other words. I'm assume." Black Star said grinning.

"No, in other words, YOUR DEAD! Scorpion ScoScorpio!" Shaula screamed and swung up her arms. Dozens of magical bolts appeared out of thin air and flew at Black Star.

Black Star did his best to dodge them, but his injures against Phantom were still effecting him and he had yet to completely throw off the effects of the venom. He stumbled and it looked like it was going to be the end of him. "Soul Resonance! Guardian Field!" Estelle shouted and Repede appeared in front of Black Star and buried her blade in the ground. A dome of shimmering golden light appeared around them. The bolts of magic bounced lightly off of the shield and smashed into the ground around them tearing holes in the earth.

Realizing she was just wasting energy Shaula turned to Phantom. "Guardian! Destroy their little shield!"

"Yes, my lady." Phantom said and flew forward. He punched the dome hard and the entire thing quacked and cracks formed in the veal.

"Our Soul Resonance could stand up to Shaula's magic easily, but Phantom's punch could crack it like it was nothing." Estelle said with shock. Phantom punched the shield again and the cracks spread throughout the whole shield. "What is he?"

Phantom locked his hands together above his head and they shone with a green light that illuminated all the shadows in the square. But before he could strike the blow that would have finished off the barrier, two more voices rang through the air. "Soul Resonance! Pixie Fire!" A wave of fire poured over Phantom obscuring him from vision. And when the fire cleared, Sam was standing between him and the barrier.

"Sorry about this, Danny." Sam said and then punched him in the stomach. Electric green sparks fired off from the glove she was wearing and Phantom was shot backwards as if hit by a cannon ball. "You guys alright?"

"You're late, you crazy weapon!" Black Star shouted though he did have a smile on his face.

Kim lighted down on Jackie before returning her to her standard lantern form. "Kim, Sam." Estelle said in relief as she dropped the barrier. "Thank's for the save."

"Don't mention it. I'll just put it on Black Star's tab." Kim said chuckling.

"What, why does it have to be on my tab!?" Black Star complained.

But they all stopped the side chatter as they heard Shaula began to chuckle. "So this is all that is left of the DWMA's elite EAT class students. A demon spawned, a monster mutt, a runaway witch and a meisterless weapon." Shaula said tapping a finger against her cheek. "Not exactly the poster children of the academy."

"Wait, so you mean that Sam was a witch all this time?" Black Star said earning him some looks. "I always thought there was something strange about you. But I always thought you were some kind of harpy monster or something."

"Black Star... just shut up and put this on." Sam said tossing him a silver belt. "It's a spector deflector. It should help take a bit of the edge off of Danny's attacks." Black Star didn't really understand but he put on the belt anyways. A thin layer of green light covered his body before fading from sight.

"Sam... I'm so sorry about what has happened to Phantom." Estelle said miserable.

"Don't worry, this isn't the first time he's been hypnotized. He'll get over it." Sam said shrugging.

"I think she meant about the fact that Phantom is dead." Tsubaki said confused as to why Sam was taking her friend being a ghost so well.

"You mean the ghost thing? Danny's been a half ghost for almost a year now." Sam laughed at the other two weapons.

"What!?" Tsubaki and Estelle shouted.

"Phantom was a ghost? He was holding out on me." Black Star said not seeming to care that much about it. "Holding back during your training isn't allowed. I have to remind him of that when he wakes back up."

"You are all nothing but pests, and as must as waiting for Death to show up is boring, you are downright obnoxious! Guardian, kill them, kill them all!" Shaula shouted.

Phantom took a step back bitting his own lip hard enough to draw blood. "No... I can't. Not Sam... not Kim... I won't." He said struggling against the mind control. "I promised... I would protect them."

Shaula couldn't understand. Her plan had been close to full proof. She had wiped out the DWMA's elite staff and infected the city with her poison with ease. And yet she was being foiled by a bunch of meddling kids and a stupid dog.

Her anger turned to horror as her Guardian started to lift the dagger like nail up to his own throat. "You can't make me hurt them." He said through gritted teeth.

"Danny don't!" "Don't do it, Phantom!" "Stop it, your god commands it!" All the students were shouting at him to not kill himself.

"Stop!" Shaula commanded and Phantom did, he was unable to disobey that order. "Fine, don't kill them. Keep the want to be ninja and the dog distracted while I handle the girls." She ordered using some more of her magical power in the command. The stream of red in the middle of Danny's soul flickered and grew stronger.

"Yes... my lady." Danny said, once again complacent.

"Black Star, keep Danny busy while the rest of us bring down Shaula." Sam said pulling out a ectostaff that was brimming with green electricity. "Repede, you're with us."

"So you want to take down the witch huh? Well, I suppose I could let you have the spot light for now." Black Star said. "Just remember who the real star is. Come on, Tsubaki. Soul Resonance! Speed Star!" Black Star rocketed forward towards Phantom who put up a energy barrier in front of him, but Black Star quiet as a flash changed directions and began to run in circles around the hypnotized half ghost. Black Star came to a stop right in front of Phantom and looked him dead in the eyes.

Phantom took a shot and the blast went straight through Black Star and his image disappeared before Phantom was knocked forward by a heavy hit to the back only made heavier by the effects of the spector defector.

Phantom got back up quickly. "What's the matter Phantom? I'm sure I trained you better than this?" Black Star's voice came from several hollow after images that moved around Phantom. Phantom leaned forward and his entire body burned green before energy blasted out in all directs pushing away all the after images and knocking the real Black Star backwards. "Now that's more like it!"

Sam and Kim had gone into close quarters with Shaula and were trying to surround her. But as Kim was being head off from the front by a whip, Shaula's own hair was striking back at Sam who was making an attempt from behind.

"Soul Resonance, Pixie Flame!" Kim shouted moving Jackie into position for the fire attack. Shaula swung her whip back and it wrapped around Sam's leg and the weapon girl was thrown at the runaway witch. Sam transformed into her hand shovel form so that she went over Kim's shoulder instead of smashing right into her and stopping her attack. Kim's attack continued and Shaula was forced to jump far backwards to get away from the flames.

"Soul Resonance, Super Skill of the Monster Dog, Shining Fang!" Estelle's voice ran out as Repede howled. Repede was spinning head over heels and barreling towards Shaula, sparks of gold were coming from Estelle that danced along Repede's fur. Shaula's hair wrapped around in front of her and magical energy expanded from it to form a pink and purple shield. The attack struck the shield dead on and golden and pink sparks flew but then Repede started to lose momentum and was knocked backwards towards Kim and Sam.

"Die you pests! Scorpion Sco Scor Scorpions!" Shaula shouted. A giant magical circle expanded out from above her as several of the infected EAT class students that littered the square began to move and started towards the small group of resistance fighters. "Now lets see how you fight against your own!"

"Kimmm..." The zombie like Ox said as he moved towards the group with spear in hand.

Crack! Kim brought Jackie down hard on the guy's head sending him to the ground before smashing it two more times for good measure. "Get lost you creep!" Kim screamed at him. Sam seemed too care only a little more as she beat the zombie like people across the head with her ectostaff. Repede knocked them all over with ease.

"So hard to get good help." Shaula sighed. "But we've always got more." And she really did. More and more of the people in the zombie like state moved in.

"There are too many of them." Kim said angrily as she pushed two away.

"We can't give up!" Sam shouted. "There has to be something we can do!"

* * *

In the mean time, Black Star was having a hard time dealing with Phantom. A well passed ectoblast caught him in the chest and pushed him back several feet, but Sam was right, the specter deflector really did take the edge off of the attacks. Black Star was able to recover quickly and looked back over at his mind controlled apprentice.

"I can't believe that you are this weak." Black Star spat angrily. "What happened to you Phantom! When I agreed to train you, you said that you would become strong! Strong enough to protect everyone, even if all the gods in the heavens stood against you!" Phantom didn't respond. He couldn't. "Look!" Black Star shouted pointing to their friends who were under attack. "They don't look safe to me."

Phantom still didn't say anything. But he did stare at the girls and Repede fighting for their lives, trying to beat Shaula, trying to save him.

"You... you..." Black Star said gritting his teeth. "When this is over I am going to triple your training program! I will make you sweat this half-assed shit out of you!" Black Star rushed Phantom again and Phantom guarded the attack wincing slightly as the spector deflector zapped him.

If Black Star could have sensed souls, he would have stopped his attack and his insults. With every blow inflected upon Phantom, physically or emotionally, the stream of red that had been placed in his soul grew bigger and bigger. Black Star didn't even notice as both of Phantom's eyes flickered a bloody red. None of them was ready for what was coming.

* * *

The girls and Repede were still trying to push back the hord but it was not going well. Sam's staff had been broken and she had pulled out an ectopistol. It was strong enough to stun the enemies, but not to kill any humans. "There is no end to this." Estelle said scared as Shaula stood on a building roof near by laughing at them.

"We have to do something!" Jackie said scared.

Kim however was weighing her options. She looked over too see the mess that Phantom's soul was becoming. "I... Soul Protect... Release!" Kim finally shouted, her purple witches soul pushed out shocking Estelle and Repede. "Tanunucoon Raccooncoo n Ponpon Ponkitanu Pon Pon Pon" Kim cast a spell over the area that would counteract the hypnosis spell, the magic circle above Shaula bent and broke. "You can't control so many people at once without using a magic calculation spell. All I had to do was disrupt the flow of magic." Kim said grinning at the older witch. "I'll make you pay for making me release my Soul Protect."

"Kim...? You... you're a witch?" Estelle said shocked as the hyponized fighters began to fall to the ground.

"And Repede is a monster, and Danny is part ghost." Sam commented. "Seriously, does species really matter here? Good work, Kim." Repede nodded his agreement.

"Why are you fighting against me?" Shaula demanded. "Don't you understand. If Guardian defeats Death than our sister will be free, the witch hunts will be over. Why would you try to stop that?" She held out a hand towards Kim. "Why don't you come with me? You would be a hero among the witches."

"Like I care about any of that." Kim spat. "Usually I wouldn't do a freebee like this, but taking Phantom made it personal."

"So you too are going to stand against me? But you are wrong, I didn't take Guardian, he was mine, he has always been mine!" Shaula's anger was becoming out of control. "Scorpion Scorpos!" Dozens of bolts of magical energy came flying at the small group.

"Get together!" Sam shouted pulling an orb out of her utility belt. She pressed a button and throw it down. A green shield formed around the group to protect them from the blasts. "This shield won't last long. We need a plan... or a miracle."

"I don't know what we can do. And older witch like Shaula is stronger than the five of us put together." Jackie said.

"That... is not quiet true." Kim said looking down at Repede. "Just matters how we put our powers together."

"What do you mean?" Estelle asked.

"I could use my support magic to empower Repede, then he should stand a chance against her." Kim explained.

"Is it safe?" Estelle asked.

"I don't really know. I've need done it on a monster before, but it should work." Kim admitted.

"Is not doing it safe?" Sam asked as the shield started to waver under fire.

Repede growled and nodded. "He... he says to do it." Estelle translated for them.

"Alright then. Here goes nothing, Soul Resonance!" Kim shouted resonating with Jackie in order to get more power for her spell. A magical pink aura surrounded her body. "Tanunucoon Pon Pon Pon Raccooncoon Ponpon Ponkitanu Pon Pon!"

The pink glow transfered over to Repede and he became concealed by it. The light started to change from pink to a sky blue as Repede's soul rapidly expanded until it was the size of a small car. But as the light dimmed Sam and Kim could see that wasn't the only thing that had changed about him.

"What did you do to my big brother!" Estelle's voice screamed out from the short sword that was still held between Repede's teeth. Repede was no longer a dog. Standing at a six foot two, Repede looked like a twenty year old man with a long sky blue mane of hair. He still had the scar over his left eye and his right was still the same shade of red that looked rather cool on his human face. He was dressed in dark blue muscle shirt and pants that looked strangely like his old fur, with his long dog's tail stuck out of his pants just like his doggy ears poking out of the hair on his head.

"That... was not supposed to happen." Kim said just as shocked as the rest of them.

"Do not worry, witch pup." Repede said in a deep voice as he took Estelle out of his mouth. "Your sorcery did as it needed to." As the ectoshield gave why Repede rushed out swinging Estelle around, his sky blue soul waves dancing along her blade. "Soul Resonance, Super Skill of the Sword Meister, Azure Edge!" A streak of brilliant azure blue light flew from Estelle and pushed their way through the bolts of magic that Shaula had been raining down on them.

Shaula's hair wrapped around a lamppost and pulled her to the side and out of the way of the strike which cleaved a path through the ground. She then swung her whip at Repede who jumped to the side as the whip cracked the ground with its impact just before he rushed the witch again who blocked the swing from his sword with her whip.

"Down doggy, or no treats for you." Shaula sneered as her hair reached up over her and struck down like a scorpion's tail. But before the attack could hit, Repede launched an attack of his own.

"Cerberus Strike!" Repede's left hand was like a blur and Shaula gasped and stumbled back as she felt three solid hits to her stomach. As she fell back her hair still clubbed Repede sending him back as well.

Shaula swept out her whip which wrapped around the transformed monster dog's neck. "Bad dogs get the chock collar." Shaula spat as Repede tried to remove the cord that was restricting his air. Shaula sent a current of her soul waves through the whip as bright purple energy that began to shock Repede. Repede howled and threshed about as Shaula laughed like the madwoman she was.

But a blast the green light caught her in the stomach followed by another, and another, making her lose her concentration until the whip went slack enough for Repede to tear it off. Sam, Kim and Jackie, in her human form, were all holding ectoguns and firing on the older witch. While they were none lethal to all but weaker ghosts they still packed a heavy punch and Shaula put up a Scorpio styled shield in over to protect herself from them. "Blasted insects!" She shouted angrily.

Repede was back on his feet and mad from the chock collar comment. "Little sister, let's finish this, Soul Resonance." He said and Estelle began to glow with the sky blue light as Repede poured all the power he had gained from Kim's magic into one final attack. "Azure Storm!" He swept out the short sword in a slow arc creating a slow moving Azure Edge, then he slashed a second quicker and shorter one followed by one last one that was even faster.

The three Azure Edges combined as they went towards Shaula's shield and morphed into an azure blue wolf's head with an open mouth just before smashing into Shaula's barrier. Cracks quickly appeared in the shield and Shaula was lost to view in the explosion that followed.

"We did it." Estelle celebrated. Repede glowed a dim gold and his body shrank back into the form of a monster dog causing Estelle to fall to the ground as Repede lacked the thumbs to hold her in his hand. "You alright big brother?"

Repede bent down and lifted up the short sword in his mouth again before sending her a message. "_I am fine, little sister._"

"You celebrate to soon!" Shaula's voice came from the smoke just before a giant pink and purple stinger swept out of the smoke and smashed into Repede sending the monster dog spinning through the air.

"Repede, Estelle!" Kim shouted, she ran over to them with Sam and Jackie. Repede struggled back to her feet as the smoke cleared showing a seriously angry Shaula. Her clothes were scratched up and there was a small cut on her face, but she was still clearly ready for a fight. Her long braid had tripled in length and width and was glowing as it swept around in the air.

"I have played with you children long enough!" She screamed before her hair shot a large shot of magic at the group blasting them off their feet and to the ground. "You all die now!" She shot again.

"Ponkitanu kitkitanu!" Kim shouted quickly putting up a shield. The blast hit hard and the shield began to crack.

"Fine then! I didn't want to kill a fellow sister, but you are lost to Death!" Shaula was losing her mind at the irritation she felt. "You will die first!" A large pink and purple spike shot from her hair and hit the barrier that Kim was desperately trying to keep up.

* * *

Phantom was still fighting with Black Star, but Black Star was starting to get a feel for how the fight works. Just keep moving quickly and Phantom couldn't keep track of him in his hypnotized state. But the scream from Shaula distracted Black Star and he took a hard shot of ectoenergy to the stomach.

Phantom was looking towards his downed opponent when he spotted Kim trying to hold up her magical barrier as the spike slowly moved through it. His eyes widened. "Ki...Kim." He murmured his body shaking. His soul was going insane as red and green waves slashed around until the scorpion tail and magic circles around it shattered. "Kim!" He shouted and made a mad dash for the young witch.

* * *

The spike was moving through the shield towards Kim's chest but she knew that she couldn't move without losing control of her shield. She could literally see death moving slowly towards her. But the only thing she could think at the end as she closed her eyes was. 'Sorry Phantom. I guess I couldn't save you.'

"Kim!" She heard Phantom's echoing voice shout. She opened her eyes to see Phantom standing in front of her with his arms spread wide.

"Ph... Phantom?" Kim said shocked that the boy was there.

Phantom turned his head and smiled, before falling to the ground. A spike through his chest. The whole world seemed to slow down as everyone realized what had just happened.

"NO!" The first scream belonged to Shaula. "This can't happen. You can't die. You were my fated one. The one who would save the witches from Order. You can't die!" She was breaking down, falling to her knees sobbing. "No..."

"Phantom?" Kim whispered horrified that what had happened. "Don't leave us."

But then, to everyone's shock, Phantom sat up. He grabbed the spike in his chest and pulled it out. The wound glowed a mixture of green and red as it started to close. "Danny?" Sam said, she hadn't believed that even Danny could have survived a wound like that one.

Shaula began to laugh. "Yes, yes my Guardian. You can not die. You are beyond Death." She was clearly insane. Phantom stood up and started walking unsteadily towards her. "Yes, come to me my Guardian!" She said holding her arms wide open.

"Don't Phantom!" Black Star shouted but Phantom kept going.

"Guys... something doesn't feel right." Kim said shivering a little.

Phantom walked into Shaula's open arms and she placed her head and his chest, a gentle smile on her face as she was on her knees before him. "Guardian." She said. Then Phantom plunged his hand straight through Shaula. She seemed to be the only one not shocked as she leaned back and placed a hand on his cheek and smiled. Her body exploded and twisted around itself before revealing a large pink and purple orb in Phantom's hand.

"A soul... but souls shouldn't appear unless she was killed by a Weapon, or an enchanted tool or... or..." Jackie was stammering.

Phantom laughed as he finished for her. "Or a Kishin." He leaned his head back before swinging it down and starting to tear into the witch's soul like a starving animal as his friends looked on in horror.

His whole body glowed dark red and he stumbled from side to side. He leaned back and screamed loud enough to shatter the nearby windows. His body suddenly grew a foot taller and his muscles began to bulge outwards. He covered his face in his hands and his hair flew up turning into white flames. Sam paled as quickly as he did though his skin turned a little shade of blue. He started to laugh again as his soul turned dark red and grew outwards until even those with soul perception could no longer comprehend its power.

"Oh the pain, the pain, it's driving me..." Phantom said turning to the group for the first time. His red eyes glinted and his insane smile exposed several razor sharp teeth. "Insane."

* * *

****** just got real. I know this was kind of a heavy chapter, but I couldn't see a good point to dividing it, or any side dialogue that would make it less... intense.**

**I just finished this chapter today and I don't think I will have another one done for a least a week. I have it all planned out, but it takes a while since my reading and writing skills are pretty bad.**

**For all of you that don't know, yes, Repede and Estelle are characters from Tales of Vesperia, I decided to add them in as the three party member for Danny and Kim's team if I ever get that far into season one. And Yuri and Flynn are there to replace Kim on Ox's team, though if need be Yuri is the equivalent of Batman when it comes to dishing out punishment to criminals that the team would normal show mercy too.**

**I know I am using Yuri's arts set for Repede's attacks. His and Estelle's resonance is gold when he is in his monster form, azure when he transforms from Kim's magic.**

**Black Star is god, keep your Makas and Kids, Black Star FTW. There was so much that could easily be added to his character without going against Canon.**

**I hope that I have boosted Shaula as a character. In the show she was nothing more than a cartoon villain; no motivation at all, and no redeeming characteristics. So I gave her both so that she would feel more like an anime villain. Do any of you feel sad that she's dead now?**

**Next Chapter "Order vs Pain, battle of the gods?" warning, next chapter may contain Sam bashing. Or it could be in the chapter after.**


	16. Order vs Pain, battle of the gods?

**I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.**

* * *

Laughter. It was all Shaula could hear as she was drained of everything she was. All she could see a dark expanse around her, death and misery given physical traits and scattered out in all direction.

She stared up into the face of a monster, the monster that she had created. Its blue skin and flaming white hair gave off the only light that she could see in the world of destruction.

She was inside of the boy's soul, the pure boy who had only wished to save lives and protect his loved ones. The boy who hadn't even wanted to kill her. How could she have twisted his soul into something so disgusting.

In the back of her mind, the words of Fate ringed loud and clear as she was slowly drained of her consciousness. '...you will lose your mind, body, and soul before you see your sister witches free...' She should have known that Fate would be cruel.

* * *

Phantom stood in front of them in the new form laughing like a psychopath as his friends watched in stunned horror. "No..." Sam said, it was close to a whimper. But it caught Phantom's attention. He paused and slowly turned to face her. "Danny, you promised... you promised you would never turn into him."

"I promised?" He said grinning, an unnatural grin that seemed completely misplaced on his face. His words made it sounded like a question. "I promised!?" He shouted a wave of power pulsating out from him, cracking the road and blowing dust into everyone's faces. A look of pure rage crossed his face sending chills through the gathered children. But then he started laughing again. "Yes, yes I promised. I promised." He was laughing.

"He's lost it." Estelle said scared.

"Phantom get a hold of yourself!" Black Star shouted, he was the only one not trembling. "The witch is gone! We won!"

Phantom grinned at the boy. "Ah yes, Shaula is gone. That she is. The woman who tried to enslave me to fulfill her hearts desires. The one who named me her Guardian." The smile slide off of his face and he flew up into the air above them. "But that is not my name. Nor is it Phantom, or Danny! Those are names given to me by people who only wished to bind me to there will. But I am beyond them now. So I need a new name."

He tapped a finger against his chin. "In the days of old, their were eight beings, each an embodiment of an idea, a fact of reality, that could drive someone to madness. The eight gods were rightfully named after the forms of madness they represented; Rage, Power, Order, Fear, Fate, etc. So why should I not take such a name myself? It seems fitting for a newly born Kishin. So call me..." The Kishin that had once been Danny grinned wide. "Pain..."

He broke into a fit of mad laughter again. But then he stopped again. "Now to the first order of business. I must kill everyone who has ever caused me pain." He looked down at them and his blood red eyes locked onto Sam. "Starting with the one who has caused me the most pain of all." He lifted one hand and pointed it a the girl. "Die Sam Manson!"

A red magic circle appeared around his outstretched hand and a stream of red energy flew towards Sam who was to shocked to move. The resulting explosion left a giant crater were the girl had been standing.

"Sam!" Estelle shouted in horror believed that the Kishin had just killed her.

"What the hell do you think your doing, Phantom!" Black Star shouted getting some attention. He had used Speed Star to grab Sam and pull her out of the way of the attack. But that didn't stop Sam from earning a horrified and hopeless look at her friends words. "You can't just kill your partner like that!"

"Partner? We weren't partners." Pain spat glaring at the boy as another magic circle began to appear, one twice as big as the previous one. "I was nothing but a tool to her!"

The second attack was launched at the entire group. A giant sphere of crimson energy that came down at them. They all froze up, believing that they were all dead. "My goodness, it looks like I am a little late." A goofy voice said and the attack was blocked by a giant bright yellow shield that was in the shape of Death's mask. Flouting in the sky between Pain and the children was the black robed goofy masked figure of Lord Death himself.

"Lord Death..." Jackie gasped in a mixture of relief and horror.

"Well well. I was starting to wonder if you were going to be a no show." Pain said mockingly. "How about you leave me to my business, Order. I can't say that I really care to fight you. All Pain wants is to kill those who have caused him pain." But then a huge grin crossed his face. "Though I suppose Order wishes to kill me. After all, you can't stand Kishins to exist. How does it feel to have a Kishin appear right under your nose?"

Death chuckled a little. "I must admit that is it fairly embarrassing, but you say that you are a Kishin. You aren't a Kishin yet." Death said causing Pain to glare. "You're missing something, or else the third eye would have appeared on your forehead and your madness would have already started to infect others. If I had to venture a guess, I would say you haven't finish absorbing that witch's soul." Then Death voice became deadly serious, even scary. "I will kill you before you get the chance!"

A small hole opened up in one of Death's comically over sized hands and a stream of golden yellow energy came out and Pain had to put up a dense red shield against it, causing him to be pushed up into the air far above the city. Two small masks came out behind Death's back and fire pushed out of them, lifting Lord Death up into the air after his prey.

The children could do nothing but watch as Lord Death flew off after their friend turned Kishin. "He's really gone." Kim said tears in her eyes. "Phantom is gone. We couldn't save him."

"No!" They all jumped as Black Star shouted. "He isn't gone! I won't except that!"

"Black Star, you saw how he attacked Sam. Phantom would have never done that." Estelle said and Repede started to whimper.

"Danny's gone." Sam said on her knees.

"Shut up!" Black Star shouted again. "Death said that he hasn't fully became a Kishin yet because he hasn't finished absorbing the witch's soul! Maybe Phantom's soul is still in there too!" Black Star reasoned. "I'm going to go and get my apprentice back! Come on Tsubaki." Black Star said turning his back on everyone else.

"I'm right behind you." Tsubaki said.

"You can't be serious Black Star! He's on the same level as a god! You can't stand up to him!" Kim shouted.

Black Star just laughed. "Who the hell do you think your talking to!? I'm Black Star, something as small as a god doesn't scare me! And I will die before I give up on a friend!" Then Black Star started running towards the battle leaving everyone else behind.

"Black Star... he's right." Kim said getting up. "If it was any of us than Phantom wouldn't stop until he found a way. So I won't stop either."

"Count us in." Estelle said and they looked down at Sam.

Sam looked miserable but she swallowed hard and said. "They're heading for the park. Lets go."

None of them noticed as one of the unconscious bodies stood up and also moved in the same direction.

* * *

The sky shook as the two gods began their battle, causing flashes of golden and red light the illuminate the sky like fire works.

Pain used the Phantom's ghost powers to duplicate himself four times. The five Pains were flying in circles around the headmaster, throwing blasts of crimson energy at the elder god. "Come on gramps! Is that everything you got! I guess eight hundred years of just squatting here on your butt has made you weak!" The Pains laughed.

Death growled and lifted both hands out in front on him. Blasts of golden energy came out of both his hands and the two masks that he was using as jet packs, hitting four of the Pains and erasing them from existence. "Don't get cocky brat! I have been fighting Kishins since before you were ever born!" Death shouted before sending a shot a the remaining Pain who put up a shield to block it.

"As much as I would love to here your old war stories grandpa, I think it is about time you took your afternoon nap!" Pain shot his own beams of energy at Death who put up a giant golden shield modeled after his mask. "How about a lullaby to help you to sleep!" Pain took in a deep breath and then let out a powerful wail that rippled through the air as red energy.

Death tried to stand up against it but his shield began to crack and he was knocked backwards as his shield shattered. But as he was being pushed back by the red Ghostly Wail he looked up at Pain and golden beams came out of the eye hole of his mask and hit Pain in the chest.

Pain screamed and put up a shield to block the continues attack. "Cheap shot!" He complained holding up his hands in front of him.

"Stop whining!" Death shouted, he had used the chance to get right up close to Pain. "Reaper Chop!" He shouted and his comically large white hand smashed through the barrier and hit Pain straight on the top of the head sending him rocketing down to earth were he landed in the middle of the playscape in the middle of Death Park, creating a crater that was half the size of a football field.

'Son of a... We just finished building that...' A small voice in the back of Pain's mind said as he pulled himself out of the twisted remains of a jungle gym. Death flew down to see the damage that he had caused to his opponent.

Pain got up and black blood was running down the side of his face from a large wound just underneath his fiery hair. Pain sniffed loudly as he pushed tears out of his eyes. "That... that hurt! Asshole!" He cried.

"Stop crying, you big baby." Death said glaring down at the monster.

"Shut up!" Pain whined as he wiped the tears out of his eyes. The wound on his head disappeared and the blood disappeared from sight. "And die!" His fiery hair grew and the edges turned crimson before breaking off and taking the shape of vultures that dive bombed Death.

Death merely swung his massive hand and the wind blew them away. "I will destroy you now, Pain the Kishin." Death said coldly. But then someone stumbled into the clearing. "It is about time you got here, Spirit!" Death scolded his Deathscythe. "Now hurry up and turn into your weapon form so that we can finish this."

Spirit walked towards Death but it wasn't until the last moment that Death noticed that something was wrong. He shifted to the side as Spirit's arm turned into a scythe and took a swing at him.

"What is the matter with you Spirit!?" Death shouted as the red haired weapon looked up at him. His eyes had changed to a mixture of pink and blue with a tattoo like an 'm' in the middle of his right eye.

Pain started to laugh again. "What's the matter Deathy? Don't tell me you can't finish me off without your scythe?" Pain said as he got up and flouted over to Spirit. "I suppose that one of us is going to have to die here though, what a pain." He said as he reached out and put a hand on Spirit's shoulder. "But since the hypnotoxin that the stupid witch placed in all the students and faculty is still there, I have full control over your Deathscythe." He gloated as Spirit transformed into a pitch black scythe in his hand.

"Oh... well this isn't good." Lord Death said as the tables had turned. "Spirit, snap out of it at once, or I will reassign you to Antarctica and you will never see Maka again!" Death tried but the Weapon didn't react. "It is an impressive mind control."

Pain began to laugh once more as he rushed the God of Order, swinging the scythe around in one hand like a maniac slashing down half the trees in Death Park as he went. 'Oh man, Sam is going to be pissed about this.' The small voice said in the back of Pain's mind as Death was left dodging the rapid slashes that rained down on him.

"All this moving around must be bad for your back, you old fart!" Pain shouted before swinging the scythe horizontally, cutting straight through Death. "Let me help you with that!" He laughed as the two halves of Death fell backwards. But the body vanished into a puff of black smoke and Pain barely managed to guard against a Reaper Chop.

"I am going to skin you alive! Make a bag out of you, and then stuff your end trails into it!" Death shouted angrily as red and gold sparks jumped from the point in which Death's hand connected with Spirit.

Pain winced. "Dude, that's sounds like it would hurt... a lot." Pain then pushed back and threw Death back with a wave of dark red soul waves. "You know, I really didn't care for killing you earlier. It was the witch that wanted that. But now... now I know that you would try to hurt me." Pain said gripping the scythe hard. "So I'm going to kill you now. And then I'm going to go after the others who could hurt me. Power, Wise, Fate, Rage..." Pain sneered exposing several pointed teeth. "On second thought I will kill Rage first. That damned holy sword..." He then shook his head. "The point is... **DIE**!"

Pain lifted up the scythe behind him. "Madness Resonance!" Pain and Spirit's screams filled the park as their bodies exploded into dark red madness soul waves. The energy coated Spirit's blade and took on a twisted form that seemed like the cross between a blade and a beating heart. "God Hunter!"

Lord Death tried to put up a shield against the horrible dark energy with he couldn't stand against the combined power of the boarder-line-Kishin and the Deathscythe. His golden shield cracked and shattered and he was crushed into the ground

"Well well, I can't believe he is still in one piece after that." Pain laughed as he reached the crater that the latest attack had made. Death lay at the bottom of the hole, his cloak was badly torn, a crack ran through his mask, and he wasn't moving. "But I'll fix that soon." He said lifting Spirit above his head. "Don't worry old man, this will be painless."

But before he could bring down the scythe a chain and sickle wrapped itself around his arm. He turned to see Black Star trying to pull him away from the defeated Lord Death. "You're kidding right?" Pain chuckled at seeing the boy there. "I just took out Order, the most powerful of the Eight Powerful Warriors that were considered gods. And you think you can stop me?"

"You clearly don't remember me very well, huh Phantom. I can do anything. I'm Black Star." Black Star said smugly.

Pain laughed before grabbing onto Tsubaki's chain and pulling on it. Black Star came flying towards him and he gave the little ninja a finger flick that sent him flying away into one of the few standing trees. Black Star gasped in pain as he fell to the ground.

"Now where was I?" Pain said but Black Star pushed himself back up. "Why do you get up? Doesn't it hurt enough to make you stop?" He said angrily. Black Star was indeed covered in cuts and bruises, not just from that last attack, but from back during his fight while Phantom was still under Shaula's control.

"No... it doesn't!" Black Star shouted straightening up as best he could. "Sure it hurts, but I already decided that I'm going to be bringing the real Phantom back home with me. So it doesn't matter how much pain I'm in. I'll keep going." He picked Tsubaki back up again. "My resolve helps me fight through the pain."

Pain stared at the ninja with wide eyes. Then he started to shake. "I... I... Die!" He lifted his hand and a blast of magical power came out. Black Star was still not ready to dodge but Repede ran through and grabbed onto his scarf, dragging him out of the way.

"Black Star, are you alright!" Kim shouted as she came down from the sky on Jackie with Sam riding on the back.

"Of course... a man as big as me is alright." Black Star said grinning. "I almost thought you guys weren't coming."

"I won't give up on Phantom. He was the first one to make me feel like I really belong. I won't give him up without a fight." Kim said as they lit down next to Black Star.

"I don't know what I can do, but I won't leave my friends." Estelle said and Repede nodded his agreement.

Sam walked out in front of them and up next to Black Star. "Thanks for what you said... we need that." She whispered.

"You..." Pain hissed looking at Sam. "I will kill you for all you have done to me!" Sam flinched under the piercing red eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about. Sam is your partner!" Tsubaki said confused.

"You all ready don't know do you?" Pain said scowling. "Let me spell it out for you. Danny Fenton was a ghost, he didn't die from natural causes, so who do you think kill him?" The group of children's eyes widened.

"You... you can't mean..." Estelle murmured but couldn't finish.

A silence fell over the group. "It was an accident." Sam whispered.

"An accident!" Pain screamed. "I was force to experience pain beyond words because of you in that contraption, just because you were curious!" His voice boomed out over the group pushing them back. "And if it was simply an accident, then why!? Why was it that after I regained my humanity from your wish that we had never met, why is it that you did it again!?"

Sam was starting to shake tears forming in her eyes. "The world needed you, Danny..."

"Did the world need me, or did you!? You took my life again because you wanted my power!? I was happy without you in my life, and you killed me so that I could fight your battle and endure pain!?" Pain shouted his power flaring up. "You are the reason that I am like this now!"

"Shut up!" Black Star shouted shocking the whole group. "Stop pretending your Phantom! You aren't him! The Phantom I knew never blamed his problems on others! The Phantom I knew had real resolve. The Phantom I knew would never let something like pain stop him from protecting his friends! So stop pretending that your him!"

"Black... Star..." Pain said surprised. Then he shouted in pain and his free hand jumped up to his face. "Ah, no! How can you... stop it!" He shouted to no one.

"What's going on?" Tsubaki asked confused.

"I don't know?" Kim responded. "What... I see something." A small green orb began to grow out in the middle of Pain's chest. His hand dropped and they all saw that one of his red eyes had turned green. Phantom was still fighting.

* * *

**I may redo this chapter later and updata it. But this will do for now.**

**Kishin Danny is not really Dan, it is just a convent model that everyone would understand and would freak out Sam. Plus if I am going to go into season one of Soul Eater, I kind of need Death not to realize it was Danny that almost killed him.**

**The name of the Kishin is Pain, for reasons I explained. And just like how Asura was a scaredy cat and desired to kill everything that made him afraid. Pain is a crybaby and tries to kill anything that hurts him.**

**And for everyone that doesn't know, Rage was Excalibur's name. And everyone wants to kill Excalibur.**

**Final chapter, "The War Within, a promise on my soul?" **


	17. The War Within, a promise on my soul?

**I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment proposes only, no money involved.**

* * *

So much pain... the pain was so intense that Danny couldn't think straight. It fell like his blood was on fire and that ever beat of his heart was sending hot lead through his vanes. His vision was nothing but a blur of dark misshapen figures.

He wanted it all to end. All he wanted was an end to the pain. He was being sapped dry of all that he was by thorny red vines that were holding him to a large black gravestone.

He could vaguely hear laughter. The sound stung his ears in the otherwise silent oblivion. Everything else might have been tolerable, if it wasn't for the laughter. Something inside of him continued to resist fading away completely because it didn't want the laughter to win. But he didn't even understand why he hated the laughter so much.

Then something else came though the nothingness. "_Shut up!... up... up..._" The words seemed to echo in the darkness as if shouted in a long and twisted cave. The laughing quieted. "_Stop pretending your Phantom! You aren't him! The Phantom I knew never blamed his problems on others! The Phantom I knew had real resolve. The Phantom I knew would never let something like pain stop him from protecting his friends! So stop pretending that your him!... him... him..._" The words echoed around Danny, penetrating the fog around Danny's mind.

"Black... Star...?" He said confused having recognized the voice. The pain he felt was becoming more manageable and he looked up as his vision started to clear. He was in what looked like a graveyard with lazy grave diggers. A dozen wrangled corps like figures lay scattered about, each looked as if it have been violently killed. It took Danny a moment to realize that they all had his face and that each one held an injure that he had taken in his life that should have killed him.

Danny couldn't understand what was going on, but then he heard the laugh again. Looking it's direction he saw what looked like a beardless Dark Dan standing in front of a large grave stone with his hands wrapped around the throat of Shaula, draining her of her soul. He was starting to remember, remember everything that had happened since he had broken Shaula's spell on him. He remember this creature forcing him to attack his friends, and the things it said to Sam.

He gritted his teeth and pulled against the vines that held him. They cut into his arms but he didn't care. He needed to stop this. The vines snapped and he flew like a rocket towards Pain and delivered a round house kick to his head, getting him to let go of what remained of the witch's soul. The moment that Shaula's soul hit the ground, it shattered into dozens of tiny scorpions that scattered and ran off in all direction. Pain was glaring at Danny."How can you still be here? I absorb your soul completely." He watched as the last of the scorpions ran away. "And you cost me my lunch."

"Yeah, you'll find that I'm kind of a pain in the ass to creeps like you." Danny said getting ready for a fight. "I won't let you hurt my friends anymore!"

* * *

Black Star and the rest of the team watched as Pain thrashed about screaming bloody murder. He threw the Deathscythe aside and clutched at the sides of his head. "Black... Black Star." He said looking straight at the ninja with a pair of mismatched eyes. "Hurry... I can't... I won't let... They will die... I must hold him..." Pain started smashing his head against the ground hard enough the crack the surface. "Kill me!"

Black Star tightened his grip on sickles as he walked up to the riving Kishin. "Phantom... I'm sorry." He said. Pain let out a scream that shook the earth beneath them as Black Star slide the Specter Deflector around Pain's waist. "Tsubaki, Soul Resonance! Trap Star!" Black Star shouted and Tsubaki's chain wrapped itself around Pain, binding his arms to his side. "We'll... hold you here... until you win... Phantom!" Black Star shouted straining to keep up enough power to held the Kishin still.

"Black Star... I don't know... how long we can keep this up!" Tsubaki shouted over Pain's screams and death threats.

"I will tear your spines out your... Ah!" Pain screamed as the struggled against his bondage.

"We'll keep it up as long as we need to, Tsubaki!" Black Star shouted back. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he willed himself to find more power to put unto their Resonance.

"Soul Resonance! Guardian Field!" Estelle's voice cried out and Black Star immediately felt some of the strain being taken off him. He opened his eyes to see Repede holding Estelle's blade up against Tsubaki's chain, and a golden light spreading across the chains as it wrapped around the Kishin.

"_We are with you, Demon Cub!_" A voice echoed inside of Black Star and Tsubaki's minds.

"Soul Resonance! Ponkitanu kitkitanu Raccoo!" Kim shouted. A magic circle appeared around Black Star and Repede. Black Star looked back at the witch. "I might not have any sealing spells, but this stamina spell should help out! And you don't have to pay me for this one, Black Star. Consider it on the house, as long as you bring Phantom back!"

A large grin split Black Star face. "Yeah! We'll show this Kishin who he's messing with! Keep it up!" He shouted and the whole group began to pour everything they had into the effort. Except for one. Sam stood behind the other, feeling completely useless as the fight for the future unfolded right in front of her.

(((

Danny was not having an easy time of it inside of the soul world. "Stay still you brat!" Pain shouted as Danny rolled behind a tomb stone to dodge a large shot of red energy which demolished the cover. He then jumped over another stone and used the dust that was kicked up from the previous blast as a smoke screen as he returned fire scoring a few hits. "Awe! Stop that!" Pain shouted and sent another shot that blew the cloud away, but Danny had hidden himself away among the stones again. "I'm really getting sick of... AHHH!"

Both Pain and Danny fell to the ground screaming in momentary pain as the effects of the damage to the real world body by the spector deflector hit both of them. It only lasted a moment before they both started to move again. Danny tossed several long knifes made off his ice core at the Kishin, who countered with a giant fiery vulture that vaporized his ice and went straight for Danny. Danny sank into the ground as the attack was about to his and flew underneath it to Pain, grabbing his ankle as Danny came out of the ground and pulling Pain off his feet.

As Pain's arms flailed about, Danny shout a ectoblast into his face causing him to scream in pain. But before Danny could follow up on the attack another wave of agony hit them both and they were both rendered unable to move. By the time it was over Danny had missed his opportunity and was blasted backwards by a large wave of red energy.

As he flew back into a tomb stone he hit his head and cracked it open causing a small stream of warm blood to flow down the back of his head before mending closed. He then had to quickly move before his opponent could follow up on his attack. Truth be told, this was the type of fighting that Danny exceed at. No straight forward fights in close quarters. Everything was ranged and tactical. The only probably being, his opponent was even more thick skinned then him and packed a much bigger punch. If he was going to win, he was going to have to be a bit more creative.

It wasn't until Danny was down on the ground looking for a new angle of attack that he spotted something. One of the corpses of him. It was the one from just before Pain took over, and it still had the giant spike pushed through it. Danny grabbed it an pulled it our of the corpse. "The last place I would have ever thought I would get a weapon from." He mumbled. "Now I just need to figure out how to get clo..." He stopped middle thought as a wave of pain rushed over him. He chocked down a scream that would have given away his position as he heard Pain give a cry of misery. There was a certain time gap between the episodes of pain, and it was the same every time.

That's when he realized what he needed to do. "Come out brat! I'm really getting sick of this tactical shit!" Pain shouted as he moved though the graveyard towards Danny's position. "Why are you trying to protect those children! They are causing us nothing but pain!"

"That's where we are different!" Danny shouted as he spun around a corner running full speed at Pain. "Unlike you..." The wave of crippling pain set in and Pain shrieked. But Danny merely gasped, willing himself to push forward through the pain. "I can take the pain!" He shouted as he closed the distance between them and drove the spike straight into Pain's chest. "Nighty night, crybaby." Danny said smearing as Pain stumbled back.

Pain eyes were bugging out as large wisps of red soul waves flickered around his body. His hand went up and he touched the spike that was sticking out of his chest. Danny's grin fell away as Pain let out a deafening wail that might just have put his Ghostly Wail to shame. A small crack appeared on his forehead which then split open to show a third blood red eye. His body exploded with red flames that forced Danny into a quick retreat as the Kishin began to grow even larger.

By the time he stopped growing he was as big as the school dorms and clothed in dark black armor with blood red carvings on it. His hair had gone from a middle length white flames to a long mane of burning crimson. He opened his mouth up wide and screamed. The ground beneath Danny shook and began to crack into pieces as large chunks of it began to flout up into the air around. After screaming for around ten seconds the creature stopped and trained its three eyes onto Danny.

Standing in from of a true Kishin Danny could only say one thing. "Ah fudge."

* * *

Black Star and the others had been doing their best to keep Phantom restrained and were doing a pretty good job of it. Pain was still struggling about and swearing at them but they ignored him to the best of their abilities.

"You will all pay for..." Pain started screaming but then he stopped his jaw going slack as both the green and red eye widened.

"What's happening? Did Phantom win?" Estelle asked hopefully.

"I don't know." Kim said. "I can still see Phantom soul, so he hasn't lost... I think."

"Of course Phantom's winning! Don't even think of questioning that!" Black Star shouted.

But then a small line appeared down the center of Pain's forehead. It then opened up to show the third eye of a true Kishin and Pain let out another scream. Sharp pain shot through everyone's bodies and they fell to their knees. Kim's lost control of her magic and Estelle and Repede's Soul Resonance broke, leaving Black Star and Tsubaki alone to bare the burden of the rampaging Kishin.

"Wha... what's going on!" Estelle screamed through the pain.

"It's a madness wavelength! The madness of... of a Kishin spreads to those around it!" Kim said trying in vain to get back up. "This pain is the form of his madness!"

"This is insane!" Jackie cried. "Make it stop!"

The Spector Deflector was crackling with the strain of trying to hold the Kishin back.

"Tsubaki, we've got to keep going!" Black Star shouted holding onto his Soul Resonance for dear life. "We can't lose him! I know Phantom can still win!"

Sam stood there shaking from the pain that washed over them. "I'm just useless." She said miserably. "Danny..." She gripped her arms and felt the smooth material of the jumpsuit that Danny had made her for her birthday.

_'You were never the one to like being stuck on the side lines or feeling helpless...'_ He had said. _'You were always the reliable one that would bail me and Tucker out when things went wrong, which was all the time. And you know that I still depend on you.'_

"Danny... I'm coming." Sam said pushing through the pain and walking forward towards the thrashing Kishin.

"What are you doing, you crazy weapon!" Black Star shouted but Sam ignored him. She went straight up to Pain... to Danny and placed her hands on either side of his head. She closed her eyes, and entered his soul world.

* * *

At first Sam couldn't understand was she was seeing. Danny was doing battle with a different version of pain, one that made Black Star's ego look small by comparison. Danny was flying around trying to stay just out of the creatures reached, but the Kishin made a long lung that caught the ghostboy and launched him like a cannon ball, straight into some flying rocks.

"Danny!" Sam shouted. That turned out to be a bad move.

"Sam!" Danny shouted back as the Kishin turned to the girl.

"YOU!" Pain cried out in rage a swung a massive arm in an attempt to crush her.

But Danny jumped out of the rock that he had been thrown into and shot a blast at the Kishin's third eye, causing the creature to fall back and clutch at it while swearing like a sailor. Danny flew in and scooped up Sam moving away from Pain as fast as he could.

"Sam, what are you doing here!?" Danny asked with a mixture of shock and panic.

"I... I came to help you." Sam said trying to regain her senses.

"No, it's to dangerous. You have to leave." Danny said. He moved to the left just as a wave of red fire burned a path where they had just been flying.

"Get back here!" Pain shouted as they heard the massive foot falls that told of his chasing them.

"I can't leave you to fight this thing on your own!" Sam shouted.

"Sam, I'll be fine, I promise. Just leave it to..." Danny started as they landed on a large rock but Sam gave him are hard slap across the face.

"Stop that! Ever time something like this happens you always shout out that you promise you will comeback and then run off to fight by yourself. You get hurt and almost killed, and you leave the rest of us to feel worried and useless! Stop trying to do everything by yourself!" Sam shouted tears in her eyes.

"But Sam..." Danny tried by was cut off again.

"No Danny! It's about time I'm the one that promises you something! I promise that you won't have to fight by yourself anymore!" Sam shouted at him. "I'm your partner Danny, so let me help you!"

Danny looked at his friend a little dumbly, but then smiled. "Alright, since you're too stubborn to leave, I could use the help." A purple light appeared between them and the till appeared.

They each put one hand around it. "Lets do this." Sam said as they turned to face Pain.

"You think you can stand against me! I am a god! I am suffering incarnate! I am all the pain you have faced in your life!" Pain's laugh shook the rock that the two were standing on.

"You're nothing more than a ghost of things that I already delt with in the past!" Danny shouted back.

"An incase you forgot, we ain't afraid of no ghost!" Sam added as they raised up the till. Her body glowed dark purple as Danny's was covered in a brilliant green.

"Soul Resonances!" They shouted together. Their souls mixed and their aura's combined into a single pitch black aura that swept around them. Threads of the dark energy began to weave around the till until a giant black phantom symbol, a quarter the size of Pain himself was being held above their heads. "Return to nothing! Ghost Hunter!"

As the attack came down Pain tried to grab. His fingers wrapped around the attack and black and red sparks flew as they struggled against each other. "You think you can beat me! I am a god! I am Pain!" He shouted pushing the attack back. Pain laughed like a maniac until cracks started to form in the dark gantlets that were on his hands. The black metal shattered and Pain's arms twisted as the attack came down on his head.

The shock wave that followed had blow him to the ground, completely defeated. "Owe..." The last thing he ever said before his body turned gray and flaked away into nothing, leaving only a large red soul behind.

Sam grabbed the soul in the palm of her hand. "So this will be the first." She said before tilting her head back and it turned into a wisp and slide down her throat. "Not surprising, it tastes like crap..."

* * *

The pain had stopped and the small group of students watched as the massive red soul shrank til they could actually see it, as the green soul began to grow back to its usual size. Eventually the red soul disappeared entirely and Sam leaned back as Pain's body dissolved away to leave the white haired Phantom behind. Tsubaki's loosened chains and the fried spector deflector falling to the ground.

"Did... did we win?" Jackie asked as if surprised. "Is it all over?"

Danny's green eyes opened and he grinned as a white ring appeared around his waist that separated turning him back into the human boy that they all knew. "Yeah... it's over."

"Yahoo!" Black Star shouted jumping up and giving a fist pump. "I, Black Star, have beaten the Kishin! I'm assume!" He shouted.

"Wait, he beat the Kishin?" Kim said raising an eyebrow at the ninja.

"Just let him have it." Sam said shaking her head and smiling. "He earned it."

"Well Sam, sorry about your ruined birthday." Danny said scratching his head.

"For get it. These kind of things happen around you all the time. But now for the next order of business, I vote we all go home and get some sleep." She yawned loudly stretching like a cat. There were loud agreements and everyone started to head back towards the dorms. After all, tomorrow, the rebuilding would start...

* * *

Back at in his room Danny as down on his bed. Closing his eyes he reentered the soul world within him.

This time it was his own home back at Fenton Works. He was standing in the middle of his parents lab and everything was just as he remember it. "I know you're there. Come out." He said into the empty room.

Then a head peeked out from behind one his the larger inventions and Shaula walked out. Danny looked down on what remained of the witch's soul. All the years of hatred and pain had been stripped clean by the Kishin's attempts to feed. And she looked the way she did the day Fate had first appeared to her. A small child, around five years old girl in a black sundress with two twin braids in her multicolored hair. Her pink and blue eyes looked scared as Danny looked down at her.

"I guess it doesn't mean much but, I'm sorry." She said looking down. "There isn't much of me left, so if you want to destroy me, then go ahead. I deserve it."

Danny took a breath. "No... You've done some things that will be hard to make up for. But I believe you deserve a second chance." He said shocking the witch. "If we are going to find a way to fix this world without killing anyone. Then it will have to start with us all working together." Danny let himself fade back into reality. "Everything start here."

* * *

"Owe my head." Death groaned weakly shifting the ice pack that was balanced on top of his repaired mask. "You know Clockwork, you could have saved us allot of trouble by just telling me that there was going to be a Kishin showing up today." He complained to the master of time and Madness through Fate.

Clockwork chuckled a little as he poured his old boss some tea. "Come now Death, you know that isn't how I operate. And everything turned out just the way it was supposed to."

"Just the way... Clockwork! Did you plan all this!?" Death shouted angrily but then he started to lose steam as his head began to throb.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." Clockwork said as he opened up a portal to leave. "Oh, Mr. Franken Stein is going to be come in in a few moment. Do give him that faculty position." Clockwork said before moving through the portal and disappearing.

Death sighed. "Sometime I wonder how I ever managed to work with that ghost." Then he looked at the end of the long row of guillotine to were Doctor Stein was coming in. "All this still seems to simple for Clockwork. I wonder what his end game is." Death mused but pushed the thought aside. After all, trying to understand the actions of Madness through Fate would only drive someone insane...

* * *

**The end... for real this time.**

**...I'm done... I'm actually done with a story... all I have to do is not write the first chapter for the next season and I will actually be done...**

**I know the ending is kind of weird, and maybe a little if not a lot forced, considering I meant it to leave the possibility of a next installment. Also I ran out of steam after having written out that whole fight twice because of my computer crashing.**

**I am not promising any future installments, even though I do have another whole season planned out... I mean... no... there are no plans... there is no cross dressing Danny sneaking into a witches' gathering, or a massive monster making factory run by a new supporting villain, or Black Star taking on Excalibur using the power of friendship, or Kid being sent on a wild goose chase by a bored Clockwork, or even the return of human Repede hooking up with Blare... I have no plans to write any such things. Go away!**

**If there is a next time, 'A New Day, confession of a phantom?'**


	18. Sequel's Up

**Sequels up.**

**Right now it is called 'After Pain'. But the title may change if I get a good suggestion. **


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